Kiss and Tell
by avejane
Summary: Elizabeth and Darcy can't stand one another. They can't keep their hands off one another either. A tale of love, trust and some lust. (Low angst. Lot of smut)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Prologue

Elizabeth has an MA in literature from NYU and works at the Harper publishing company in NYC as Assistant Editor. Darcy is an investment banker and runs his family's investment firm. Elizabeth and Darcy meet during Jane and Bingley's courtship. His pride and her prejudice clash as expected and they have maddening arguments every time they are thrown together at family events. They think they dislike each other but cannot suppress the sparks that seem to fly when they are around each other. She thinks he is a rich, snob but with a gorgeously dimpled smile that he rarely flashes. He thinks she is an impractical idealist but with beautiful eyes that he dreams about all the time. Once in a semi-inebriated state Darcy euphemistically suggests they go get a room so they can quell what he thinks is their unfathomable lust for one another. He is attracted to her wildly and thinks some mindless sex should satisfy him and get her out of his system. She slaps him for his miscalculated suggestion and boots him out. Months go by. Jane and Bingley are happily married and Elizabeth and Darcy cannot avoid being thrown together every now and then. Georgie also gets to meet Elizabeth and they become great friends. Georgie goes off to study in Europe but she still keeps in touch with Elizabeth over the internet and in person whenever she visits New York. That is another reason why Elizabeth and Darcy learn to tolerate each other to the best extent possible in social situations. They are still attracted to each other but do not want to admit it to themselves or each other.

One night Elizabeth unavoidably meets Darcy at his penthouse to drop off Georgie's books that she had borrowed. Lizzy is standing awkwardly in his living room in her well-fitting pair of skinny jeans and dark green t-shirt that says "money - diamonds - chocolate" with money and diamonds struck out and a check next to chocolate. Darcy thinks she looks adorable. He goes out on a limb and asks if she wants to stay for dinner.

"No thanks, I need to get back," Lizzy replies

"To what? I thought you just dumped your boyfriend," he says

"So I dumped that cheating asshole. Doesn't mean I don't have a life," she replies angrily.

He teases her about her constantly changing boy friends.

She retaliates accusing him of having a kinky sex life with none other than Caroline Bingley. He ignores her incorrect assumptions about Caroline and him. He wouldn't touch Caroline with a barge pole but he cannot resist teasing and riling Lizzy up.

"Are you envious of turning me down once, Lizzy?" He teases cockily, openly referring to the time he had suggested they go get a room.

"Why should I be envious? I can have you anytime I want," she challenges.

"You think so?" He asks with one raised eyebrow and a grin on his face.

Not that grin she thinks. It does things to her like giving her goosebumps all over. She is mad that he can so easily get a reaction out of her and wants to make him pay. Without thinking she walks up to him and jabs a finger to his chest.

"Yes, I think so," she breathes and without missing a beat pulls her shirt over her head in a flash. She really is bent on messing with his head today.

William is shocked to say the least. He is doing his best to not look at her breasts, her glorious breasts, the very same things he has fantasized about endlessly. He knows he should resist but she is right there kissing him with her hands in his hair. She is wearing a dark green lacy bra and he really wants to know if she is wearing matching panties too. His hands grab her butt as she wraps her legs around his waist. They kiss wildly as he walks them backwards into his bedroom. And even before they know what they are doing they are tumbling on to his bed, peeling off their clothes in a mad rush to an end that would have been unthinkable to either of them even a half hour before.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Elizabeth opened her eyes in a daze as William extricated himself out of the bed to go to the bathroom. To say this was the most mind-blowing sex she had ever had would be a total understatement. She still shivered at the thought of what they had done, what she had made him do to her. Her spine tingled as she turned around to glance quickly at the man who had turned her into a quivering mass of jelly. She knew she would regret this. She knew she had bitten the forbidden fruit and things could never be the same between them. They couldn't be just friends or acquaintances anymore and could they be anything more? Oh, what had she done! For now she resolved to get dressed and walk out with as much dignity as she could muster.

When William walked out of the bathroom he was half afraid of what would greet him. Would she be mad at him? Very likely but it was not his fault! Still he should have shown more restraint. But what could a man do when the unrequited love of his life challenges him and goads him into doing what he had only dreamt of for years. Still he should have shown more restraint, he thought. Sighing he walked out of the bathroom to see her wrapped in a sheet, walking around picking her clothes off the floor. Did she have to look so tempting?! He warred with himself to not pick her up and throw her over his shoulder and have his way with her. Instead he remembered the confusion he had seen in her eyes when he got out of bed and decided humour would be the best way out. He gingerly attempted "So did I live up to your expectations Lizzy?" She turned to glare at him and threw whatever was in her hands which happened to be her dark green lacy panties. He caught them in his hand as they landed on his chest and tucked the said item into the back pocket of his pyjamas, nonchalantly with a grin. Not that grin again, she thought, as she tried to dismiss him and find the rest of her clothes.

When she found everything she needed and was about to walk into the bathroom to get dressed, she was somewhat taken aback to see he was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. She realized it hadn't been easy for him either. Damn it. She should have thought about this more. She walked over to him, still wrapped in the sheet.

"Will, I'm really sorry," she said softly.

He looked up at that still confused "I'm too. I should have had more restraint but I'm not sorry." He couldn't help himself. He pulled her onto his lap and nuzzled her ears.

She felt warm inside with just that little touch. "Focus Lizzy, Focus!" she told herself as she sat prim and straight backed on his lap and told him with as much sincerity as possible. "I'm sorry for doing this without thinking. I have no regrets at the same time. I just wish we could start over again."

"Start over?" He blinked feeling stupid. Why was it always so difficult between them and what was she asking for now.

She sighed, mustering more courage she said "Yes, start over like normal adults who want to see each other and get to know each other," she said. It seemed like she was surprising herself yet again today with this request. She had thought many times about how it would be to actually start off on the right foot with Darcy but she had never imagined she would take the first step towards it.

"You want to see me?" he asked quite unnerved but mighty thankful for the hope she was giving him.

"Yes, I would like to see you" she said standing up suddenly, fidgeting with the sheet, feeling embarrassed about her state of undress.

"Will, I know I have been extremely dumb but I'm not usually like this. I do not go throwing myself at men. I don't know what came over me. It must have been all the pent up tension between us, all the history but you should know that I'm not a hussy."

He laughed at that and pulled her palms to his lips. "I know Lizzy. Like you said, I would like to start over too. Will you go out on a date with me?"

"A date?" she gulped, "Yes, I would like that" she said with a small smile.

He grinned happily and his dimples showed as he said "How about a breakfast date tomorrow morning? Or may be dinner or may be both?"

She giggled thankful that he was trying to lighten the situation. "As tempting as breakfast sounds, I think I'll just go home now, sleep for the remainder of the night and meet you for dinner tomorrow evening."

She bent over his shoulder to get her panties from his back pocket where he had tucked them. He was too quick for her however and held them out of her reach. She glared at him for a second. He glared back. His intense looks always flustered her.

Looking at the floor she said "Will, I would like to date you but I would like it if we can take it slow. I know you must think of me as a tease after what we just did but can we please take it slow?"

He understood what she was asking off him and hell he was ok with that. He was ok with anything as long as she would be with him, as long as she was willing to get to know him. He felt buoyed with unexpected hope. It would be difficult to keep his hands off her but he would not push her. "Lizzy, I'll not push you towards anything you don't want to do. We can take this relationship as slow as you want. I want you to know you are in control."

She smiled hesitantly at him - this was turning out better than she had expected. "Thanks Will" she said giving him a quick peck on the cheek before heading to the bathroom to get dressed.


	3. Chapter 3

Lizzy woke up the next morning to the sound of the phone ringing. It was Jane asking her if she was free to go to dinner with them in the evening. Lizzy would have wanted to go but for this new development in her life. She grinned to herself as she quickly made her excuses to Jane. She knew she would not hear the end of it if she told Jane the truth that she was actually going on a date with Will. She wanted to tell her sister the truth but it seemed too soon and she was not in a mood to put up with her sister's i-told-you-so's. She promised to meet Jane soon and hung up. She did not want to meet anyone today before her date. Today would have to be assigned towards some honest soul-searching, to clear her head and be frank with herself about her feelings for Will. She would have to be stupid and childish to still think she wasn't attracted to him. She decided that she would have to go with the flow and put her best foot forward and see how their relationship grows. She had to put her past behind her and she made up her mind to look forward to whatever the future might hold with Will.

Feeling positive she grabbed a coffee and decided to go for a run. She ran for a few miles around her neighbourhood at a comfortable pace and picked up some groceries on the way back. As she was stepping into her apartment her phone rang. She was surprised that it was Will calling her. It was only 3.30 in the afternoon.

"I was thinking I could pick you up at 4 pm" he said.

"4 pm?" it was already 3.30 and she hadn't even figured out what to wear. "Will, I know you guys in royalty eat early and often but don't you think 4 is too early even for you?" She teased. "And I'm not even dressed," she added.

"Well about that, I do remember I have an article of your clothing and I thought I could bring it back and help you with the err dressing up," he quipped.

She giggled despite herself. God, why did she love it when he flirted with her like this and who even knew that he could flirt so effortlessly.

"Will, don't be a flirt," she said in fake anger.

"Alright, alright," he agreed. "It's just that I couldn't wait to see you," he said softly. "I'll pick you up at 6 if that's ok with you. See you soon," he said and hung up happier than he had ever been in the past few months.

Will too had realized that if he wanted this relationship to go anywhere, he would have to be honest with himself and her. He couldn't bottle up his feelings anymore and still he didn't want to scare her away with the depth of his feelings. He decided he would bring out the old charm and be sincere and warm with her. They would have their arguments about this and that he was sure for two such opinionated individuals but he could take that as long as he knew she wanted to be with him. He realized he had instigated many arguments between them in the past, just to see her riled up and get a reaction out of her. And how right she was at times with her strong will and how it had hurt his pride. But if this had to work he had to get over his pride and his need to be in control.

Lizzy quickly slipped on her black peep toe wedges when she heard the doorbell ring. There were butterflies in her stomach but she knew she looked good, so she hoped that would make her seem confident. She was wearing a black v-necked dress with a slightly deep open v at the back. She had accessorized with a rusted bronze broad bangle and earrings and some lipgloss and she was all set. She opened the door to see Will leaning on the door jamb with a bunch of what seemed like freshly picked flowers in his hand. He grinned when he looked at her and she saw his jaw clench as he took in her appearance.

"You look gorgeous, Lizzy," he said giving her a quick peck on the cheek and handed her the flowers.

"Thank you. Will" she said eyeing the flowers and wondering where he was able to find a perfect bunch of wild-flowers at this time of the day.

"Ready to go?" he asked, "I got reservations at a little Italian restaurant. Hope you don't mind eating Italian," he said.

She nodded and said "Italian sounds great," as she wore her jacket and found her purse.

As she got into the plush leather seats of Will's car she bit her tongue to not make a tongue-in-cheek comment about how rich and snooty the car looked. "Get used to it Lizzy," she told herself. "Just because he is rich doesn't mean he is an uptight brat." She had to get over her prejudices if this had to work.

William drove with his hands safely positioned on the steering wheel. He was worried that he would launch himself on her if he did not focus on the road. She looked amazing. She always did even when she wore track pants and mussed hair lounging in Bingley's house but today she had dressed up and she looked bewitching. He had caught sight of the open back of her dress and was so tempted to run his fingers on her spine.. no, let's not go there he decided and stopped himself in time. He had to find a safe topic to talk about. Lizzy was having trouble too making conversation. She tried to look everywhere but at him for she was afraid she would end the evening before it had started, considering he looked so dashing in his dark jeans and grey sweater.

"So did you talk to Georgie this weekend?" she ventured thinking it was a safe enough topic.

"Yes, I in fact did. Umm, she was happy to know we met but I made sure to be careful not to divulge details about the said meeting."

She looked at him then and smiled, "Yeah, Jane called too. In fact i didn't tell her that we were meeting tonight," she faltered a bit before continuing "I wanted to make sure this was a viable thing before getting her hopes up," she added.

They arrived at the little Italian restaurant and were seated at a table for two. The waitress introduced herself and handed them their menus.

"Would you like some wine Lizzy?" asked William.

"Sure," she said as she looked at the menu, "I'm thinking of the ravioli for my entree."

William decided he would have the spaghetti bolognese and ordered an accompanying wine.

After the waitress finished taking their order Will turned to see Elizabeth fiddling with her thumbs. She was nervous he could see.

"Lizzy, I heard about this game from a psychiatrist friend to break the ice." He started "where I say a word and you say the word that comes to your mind right after.."

Lizzy had heard of the game too. "Ha, yes, I heard about that game too, but why would I want to play with you?" She smirked.

"I didn't say you should play with me."

"Actually I want to play with you Will," she admitted suddenly not wanting to spar unnecessarily with him, "I want to get to know you better. What comes to your mind if I said - Blue?" she asked.

"Sky," he answered.

"Snow," she said next.

"Ski"

"Work"

"Interesting"

"Relationships"

"Hard"

"Parties"

"Boring"

"Me"

"You?"

"Yes, what comes to your mind when you think about me?" she smiled. She liked putting him on the spot.

"Lizzy.. " he groaned "that's a trick question."

By that time their food arrived and Lizzy decided to drop the subject. They got into a discussion about the book that Lizzy was reviewing for her work. By the time they finished dinner and dessert Lizzy had decided that spending time with Will wasn't that bad after all. She always had found their discussions or arguments like some called it, interesting. Will was having a great time too. It was always insightful to talk about things with her. There was a lull in conversation as the waitress came to clean the table. When the waitress left, Will saw Lizzy was nervously twiddling her thumbs again. He gently caught hold of her wrist and brought it to his lips.

When she looked at him he breathed, "Your bare back," still holding her wrist to his lips.

"My bare back?" Lizzy wasn't sure she had heard him correctly.

"You asked me what's the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about you. When I think about you today Lizzy all I can think about is your bare back," he said and grinned wickedly.

"Ugh, I'm going to kill you," she said leaning forward to slap his chest playfully.

Will caught hold of her wrist again and pulled her to him as he brushed his lips to hers. He continued somewhat seriously, "Lizzy, when I think about you today, I'll always think about the second chance I have got with you. I want to do everything right by you and I'll. I'll go as slow as you want but all I ask for you is to give us a second chance."

"Yes, Will, I would very much like that too," she breathed as he held her eyes with his.

They finished at the restaurant and Will drove them back to Lizzy's apartment and parked. He walked her to her door.

"Will I had a lovely evening, thank you," she said.

"I did too, Lizzy. Thank you. If you hadn't seduced me yesterday we would never have gotten here," he chuckled with a smug grin. She smacked his chest as he caught her waist and brought her to his chest. "No, seriously, if you hadn't come to return the blasted books yesterday, we would have never gotten here. So thank you for that," he smiled genuinely.

"Yes, Will, I guess we have our sisters to thank for the first and second chances," she quipped as she saw his eyes drop down from her eyes to her mouth.

"Hmm, hmm," he replied as he bent down to kiss her.

Just when she sought to deepen the kiss he broke apart. Lizzy was aghast when he said "Lizzy, I'm sorry, you said you wanted to take it slow but I just cannot stop myself from kissing you."

"It's ok, you idiot. Do not apologise. I need to kiss you just as much." She grabbed him and pulled him back.

He pushed her to the wall near a covered part of the porch as his hands roamed her back. His fingers danced on her spine as she quivered. They were gasping as they broke apart as a car drove by on the road in front of her building.

Will started to apologize again as Lizzy put her finger to his lips to stop him. "No, uhuh, don't apologise again. Do you want to come up?"

Will was sorely tempted to take her up on her offer but at the same time he knew he had to respect her interest of taking it slow. He declined her offer and instead walked back to his car. She opened the door to her apartment and blew him an air kiss before slipping inside.


	4. Chapter 4

The next week was busy for both Lizzy and Will. Lizzy had a ton of books to review and meetings to run on publishing plans for the quarter at work. She was also working on posting a few book reviews on her personal blog during her free time. Off-late even when she was working, she had gotten into the distracting habit of daydreaming about Will and sometimes flashes from the hot and urgent sex they had broke into her thoughts. Her body urged her to want that again and again with Will but she worried that she did not know the real Will at all. For them to be jumping into bed mindlessly would be disastrous especially considering the common friends and family they had. Her reverie was broken by her phone beeping. She was pleasantly surprised to see a message from Will.

"Hi sweetheart, busy?"

Lizzy while happy to be called sweetheart by him was still surprised that he called her that or thought of her that way.

"Really? I'm your sweetheart?" she replied.

There was a slight pause before Will replied.

"Yes, you are but hopefully I'm not going too *fast* by using that term for you ;)"

She knew he was teasing her. She replied back just as cheekily.

"Even my grandma calls me *sweetheart*, Will. So, no, you are only as fast as my dear old grandma :)."

"Hey, it was you who wanted SLOW."

"Haha, so I did. And I can't remember why. Be that as it may, did you message me for a specific reason?"

"Yes. I'm going to Chicago on work tomorrow and I will be there for a week till next Wednesday. I was wondering if you are free tonight to get dinner somewhere before I leave tomorrow."

"Can't stay away from me, can you?" she joked.

"It looks like I in fact can't, Lizzy :P" he typed.

"Alright, how about a quick bite around 7.30?"

Will signed off saying he would pick her up at 7.30 from her office.

When Will came to Lizzy's office to pick her up, Lizzy's coworker told him she was in their office's library trying to find some books. Will went looking for her and when he found her, Lizzy had her back to him and was on her toes trying to reach a book on one of the higher shelves. She did not hear Darcy till he quietly walked to be standing behind her and put his hand up to cover her raised hand and blew softly on her neck. She whipped around ready to slap whatever it was and was gobsmacked to find Will. She broke out into a smile and covered her mouth with her hands in surprise but not before Will caught her hand and pushed her into the shelves with his body and stole a kiss.

"Will, stop acting like a horny teenager making out in the library," Lizzy whispered pushing him away.

"Lizzy, you know my fantasy? You - me - in the library," Will replied in a hushed tone.

"You fantasize about me?" Lizzy asked.

"All the time," Will replied as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Lizzy had to really fight to not launch herself into his arms right there. She instead stacked the books she was borrowing on her arms and walking backwards, winked at him and whispered, "One day sweetheart, one day, your fantasy shall come true."

"Is that a promise?" Will asked still speaking in hushed tones.

Lizzy winked again and walked out without so much as a backward glance.

"What am I going to do with this girl?" Will asked himself raking a hand through his hair. He was utterly smitten. "You know what you are going to do," he told himself. "You are going to woo the hell out of her so all your fantasies about having a family, love, laughter, happiness come true." He told himself as they walked out of the library.

As they sat down to dinner at a local burger place, Elizabeth felt like she had to explain her stand on taking things slow to Will. It was only fair.

She started tentatively, "Will, I'm really thankful to you for agreeing with me to take it slow."

"You don't have to explain, Lizzy," he started but she stopped him before he could continue.

"I need to. I need to put us on the same page. I feel we started off always on the wrong foot in the past but we need to get past our terrible attitude towards each other. I like you, Will. Not just physically. I like you in more ways, I like how you think. I like how you are a good brother, you are good to your friends and family. You are fair to your employees and businesses. You are a good guy, only a reticent and sometimes brooding one." She could see him suck his breath in, she continued quickly. "I'm attracted to you but at the same time I want to take my time to get to know you, to know each other. I feel like we will not get this right if we start mating like bunnies every chance we get." He smiled but did not interrupt her. She continued "I want to go steady with you, Will, if that is ok with you, if there is no one else that is."

Here she faltered for a bit. May be she was being overly optimistic that he didn't have anyone he was seeing. She was relieved when he stepped in helpfully, "There is no one, Lizzy."

She continued smiling, "I want to meet you often and talk to you often and watch movies and plays with you. I want to go running with you, want to hike the mountains or go to the beach with you. I want to do everything that two people who date would normally do and see where that takes us." She was finally out of steam but it felt great to get it off her chest.

Will smiled as he gave a quick kiss to her wrist. He said "Lizzy, I cannot thank you enough for bringing this up. I want to do everything with you like you said. I cannot stop thinking about you. In fact it has been that way for as long as I can remember. I should have done this right in the first place and asked you out nicely all those years ago instead of proposing a quick roll in the sack like the dick I was." He winced at that thought and continued "but I'll do it right this time. I want to go steady with you too and get to know you too. So will you be my girl friend?" he grinned.

"Yes, Will, I'll," Lizzy replied. She thought he was being traditional by staidly asking her if she wanted to be his girlfriend but it was still cute and she liked that he was being direct with her.

They paid for their burgers and walked back hand-in-hand to Lizzy's apartment. Lizzy turned to face Will as they came to the steps of her apartment.

"Lizzy," he said with a twinkle in his eyes, "I have a question about this slow thing though," he grinned. "How slow is slow?" he drawled as he gave a quick kiss to her forehead while his fingers played with the tendrils of hair on her neck. "Is this slow enough?"

"Yes," she nodded.

He gave a quick peck on her nose. "Still slow?"

"Yes"

He kissed and licked a little behind her ear. "This ok?"

"Yes," she shivered a bit.

He kissed her collarbone and nibbled gently. "Now?"

"Hmm hmm," she gasped

His hands skimmed up her thighs and dipped under her skirt as his lips sought hers. He kissed her as her breasts pressed into his chest. His hand that was skimming under her skirt moved higher. She groaned louder.

"Screw taking it slow, let's go upstairs, Will," she breathed.

He quickly stopped his hands from going any higher and brought his forehead to hers panting visibly. "Ugh, I don't know how I'm going to sit through my meetings in Chicago tomorrow and for the next few days without thinking about you," he groaned.

She kissed him quickly. "I'll call you tomorrow night to see how you are doing," she said before heading up the stairs two at a time.

As she was getting ready to bed she thought about their evening. She realized they were acting more like teenagers and less like the strong-willed adults they were. "I guess that is how it feels at the beginning of a relationship between two people who have always had the hots for each other but were too dumb to admit," she surmised. She also realized that this was unchartered territory for both of them. Neither of them had had much emotional support from their families before. He had lost his parents early and it had been up-to him to be the strong one for both Georgie and himself. He had grown up making all the important decisions at a personal and professional level and shouldering the burdens thereof. He had never had a steady girlfriend as far as she knew. He had had dates that he brought to parties and such but Lizzy had never known him going steady with anyone much to the huge disappointment of the likes of Caroline Bingley who tried their best to hang on to him. Meanwhile she had grown up being opinionated and independent but never finding an emotional connection with her mother. Her mother loved her in her own way but she still thought of Lizzy as the footloose rebel who never measured up to her first daughter Jane. Lizzy felt undervalued most times by her mother but she masked it by being overconfident and by using humour to guard herself. Her dad was more supportive of her academic pursuits but he willingly choose to ignore the silliness of his wife and did not help Lizzy on that front. Lizzy had had a few boyfriends in the past but they were either too disinterested in her bookish pursuits or too overbearing and stifling for her independent nature. She had never thought she would find the right fit. Will seemed different however. He listened to her when they argued and yet knew how to keep his stand if he disagreed. This relationship would involve new learnings in many respects for both herself and Will. Being in a relationship meant being vulnerable to showing your feelings and opening up to the other. Would two people who were experts at guarding their feelings for fear of getting hurt be able to open up to each other she wondered? "You will never know if you do not try," she told herself as she drifted off to sleep.

The next day Lizzy couldn't wait to finish her work so she could call Darcy. She got home from work, had a quick bite to eat and then called him. He picked up on the second ring.

"Hi Will!"

"Hi sweetheart."

Lizzy smiled. It seemed like Will had assumed that term of endearment for her and it pleased her immensely like a high-schooler having a crush.

"How was your day?" she asked him.

"Not that productive. I kept thinking about you."

"Thinking about me is not productive?" she mocked.

"Thinking about you leads to re-productive thoughts, Lizzy. But that's not productive in a board meeting," Will chuckled at his own joke.

Lizzy laughed at that.

"How was your day Lizzy?" He asked her in turn.

"It was good. I finished one book review and ordered a few books from this upcoming author."

"Did you think about me at all?"

"Only a little bit."

"Just a little bit?"

"Yeah, I thought about that thing you do with your tongue behind my ear," she breathed.

"Lizzy, you are killing me," Will groaned.

"Sorry, Will. I couldn't resist"

"I know. I'm pretty irresistible," he said.

They flirted shamelessly for a few more minutes. Will also told her about the meetings he was attending - about a company he was trying to invest in, that manufactured inexpensive water pumps for harvesting clean underground water. Lizzy ended the call feeling impressed with the amount of reading he seemed to do to gather information about the ethical practices of companies he invested in. She realized how prejudiced she had been in the past by wrongly assuming that all rich kids were pampered, good-for-nothings with extravagant lifestyles. She smiled to herself and determined to not form opinions so quickly and brashly in the future.


	5. Chapter 5

Will messaged her again before he caught his flight back from Chicago on Wednesday.

"Hi sweetheart, about to board my flight. Should land in La Guardia around 6:30. Can we get dinner after? Missed you badly."

Lizzy grinned when she saw the message. She had also missed him these past few days but she was supposed to be meeting her running group that evening. She told him as much and got a series of sad faces in a reply from him. She promised him that they could meet on Saturday if he was free. She would even take him up on his offer of brunch, she said and signed off.

After running that evening and getting a quick bite, Lizzy plonked herself on her bed with her laptop trying to catch up on some emails. On a sudden whim she started browsing through some old pictures on her laptop. There she was in some pictures at the picnic that Jane and Charles had hosted at the beginning of their relationship. She looked slightly miffed in the pictures and remembered it was because of overhearing Will's comment about she being only tolerable to look at. She skimmed through more pictures and found that Will was actually looking at her in many pictures. She skipped to an album a few months from then and found pictures of Georgie, Jane and herself frolicking on the beach. She remembered Will looking quite hot in his swim trunks with his toned chest. There was even one picture where he seemed to be glaring at her wet body from behind his sunglasses. She was wearing a dark blue one-piece swimsuit with a cut out at the back and waist and she must have just gotten out of the water when one of their friends had taken the picture. She looked quite hot even if she thought so herself and he seemed to be openly staring at her.

On a sudden impulse she took a picture on her phone of that picture from her album and sent it to Will with the caption "Whachyu looking at?"

A moment later she got his reply and they started texting each other.

Will: "The ocean, ofcourse!"

Lizzy: "Liar!"

Will: "The undulating waves of the ocean to be clear."

Lizzy: "Oh yeah, you know what? There is something else that's undulating here."

Will: "And what would that be?"

Lizzy: "My heart when you look at me that way."

Will: "Which way, Lizzy?"

Lizzy: "Arggh, the way you look at me like you are mentally undressing me."

Will: "What wouldn't I give to be doing that to you right now in person.."

Lizzy: "But you aren't here in person."

Will: "Will you do it to yourself if I tell you what I want to do to you?"

Lizzy was flustered. She couldn't believe they were sexting each other but she couldn't step down now that he had thrown the gauntlet. This was too erotic. She slowly replied. "Yes."

Will took his time to savour the moment. Here he was sexting her like a teenager and enjoying himself immensely.

He replied slowly. "Take your hair down, sweetheart."

Lizzy slowly removed the pins from her messy bun and then typed.

"My hair is down now."

"I love your hair, Lizzy. Now you need to stand up."

Lizzy couldn't believe how his typed words were affecting her. She stood up and messaged him, "I'm standing. What now?"

Will replied. "Now turn around so you are watching yourself in your mirror and slowly take off your pyjamas."

Lizzy was already breathing faster as she stepped out of her pyjamas.

Will sent a message again. "Now bend over and run your fingers softly from your toes to your thighs. Imagine my lips doing the same to you."

She moaned as she did as she was told.

She saw another message come from Will. "Imagine I'm standing in front of you and take off your shirt like you did for me the other night."

Lizzy couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't type anymore. She was so aroused. She had to hear his voice if not feel him in person. Grabbing her phone she called him. He answered within half a ring.

"Oh Will," she breathed.

Will was feeling impatient now. "Is your shirt off, Lizzy?" he asked.

"Yes, yes," she replied flinging her shirt off.

"What are you wearing now?" he breathed.

Unable to stop herself she snapped a full length picture of herself in the mirror standing in just her dark lavender bra and panties and sent it to him. Will couldn't take his eyes off her in the picture. She looked glorious with her hair down. Her mouth was in a pout as she seemed to be breathing hard, her cheeks and throat were pinked. She had her right hand on her hip in a super-model like pose and she looked every bit the super-model like in a Victoria Secret's fashion show. She looked better infact. She had a fit figure and looked healthy and happy and a little bit flushed by his words. He couldn't believe he was able to make her feel that way.

"Lizzy, you know what is your sexiest feature?" he asked not wanting to stop their play.

"What?" she breathed into the phone.

"Your eyes and your confidence," he replied throatily.

Lizzy melted at his words. Coming from anyone else it would have sounded cheesy but from Will it sounded just right. She moaned into the phone as her fingers ventured into her panties. Her moaning was Will's undoing. He got out of his pants and boxers in a rush as he heard her gasp unstoppably. He wished he could drive over to her place right now and do things to her. Her moans were pure bliss as he shamelessly pleasured himself. She panted uncontrollably as she reached her peak still holding on to the phone. He tried to control himself but he was too aroused and a massive orgasm overtook him.

As they lay panting into their respective phones afterwards grinning in disbelief at their own behavior, Lizzy asked him, "Do you still find me only tolerable?" She was half joking but she needed to be reassured right now.

Will groaned. He remembered clearly what she was referring to. "Lizzy, I'm truly sorry for making that childish comment at the picnic that day. I was fighting what I then thought was a silly attraction to you and assumed that being rude to you would make it go away. I hope you can forgive me for my stupidity and rudeness. For many months now I have thought of you as one of the most beautiful women I have known. Never doubt that."

Lizzy gasped, "I never knew you felt that way."

"Yes, I never let you know how I felt I guess," Will replied, "but I'll strive to let you know exactly how I feel about you from now on and that is not just my lust induced brain talking," he chuckled.

Lizzy chuckled too thinking about the state the two of them were in right now. Lusty or not, she felt very warm and contented for the first time in her life as she said a soft goodbye to Will.


	6. Chapter 6

Lizzy and Will met on Saturday as planned. The weather was turning into spring and they ate at an outdoor brunch place. Lizzy had a croissant, an omelet and coffee and Will had an omelet, a scone and a shake. They spoke mostly about work. Lizzy said she was finishing one book review for work and one for her personal blog.

"You review books for your personal blog?" Will asked

"Yes, that's just something I do for my recreational reading and writing," Lizzy replied. "I know that sounds snooty but I really like the interaction with my online readers that my blog brings," she added

"Makes sense," Will replied, "and I think it's great that you make time for both your work and your blog."

"So what do you do in your time off, Will?" Lizzy asked.

"Not much. I'm afraid. I haven't had that much time off other than the usual family ski trip with Georgie and some weekend trips that we do with the Bingley's that you already know of," he replied.

"I guess it's hard to delegate the dealings of a large company and take time off," Lizzy suggested.

"Hmm, May be. I was also young when I took control of the company and I was not very trusting of people then. I think I now have a great staff and would be more willing to take time off," he replied.

Lizzy nodded.

"Btw, what is your blog called?" he asked.

"You want to read my blog?" she was a little unsure.

"If you don't mind," he replied.

"No. Not at all. It's a public blog, so you might as well," she replied and gave him the name of her blog.

They finished their brunch and headed out.

"Lizzy, what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Will asked as they headed out. Will very much wanted to spend as much time with Lizzy as possible.

"What are your intentions, Will?" Lizzy asked skeptically.

"As honorable as possible," he replied with a smirk, "I was wondering if you would be interested in going to the Guggenheim. I heard about this new installation called - Memories - that I wanted to check out."

Lizzy agreed and they headed to the Guggenheim modern art museum. The installation was a huge electronic display of people's memories collected from childhood to old age. It spanned about two stories in height with childhood memories at the bottom and old-age memories at the top. Will stood behind Lizzy with his arms around her waist as they gazed at what seemed to be hundreds of thousands of thoughts and stories and images from all over the world. Lizzy rested her head on Will's shoulders as she looked up to see the top of the installation.

"I wonder what your memory of us will be Lizzy when we are 60," Will whispered into her ears as he held her.

Lizzy felt all mushy inside just at the thought of being with Will at 60. Just then their intimate bubble burst when they heard a high-pitched "Hello, Will darling" from the crowd around them. "No prizes for guessing who that could be," thought Lizzy as she tried to pull herself out of Will's embrace. She did not want to explain their public display of affection to Caroline of all people. But Will was having none of it. As she tried to pull away, he held her to him even more firmly.

Caroline came to them swishing in a bright orange ensemble. "Oh, Hello Will.. and Elizabeth?" she said more or less shocked at finding the two of them together.

"My, isn't it a surprise to find the two of you here," she said. "Are you two like a couple or something now?" she asked looking back and forth between Lizzy and Will.

Lizzy started to explain "No,, we .. um..," when she was cut off by Will saying firmly, "Yes, we are."

"Wow, that's a nice surprise. Will, is she one of your spring flings?" Caroline coo'ed nudging Will as if his flings were a private joke between Will and herself.

"Absolutely not," Will replied caustically, "and even if she were it is none of your business," he snapped.

"Will, may be we should get going," suggested Lizzy trying to get away from the awkwardness.

"See you Caroline. Have a good weekend!," she said as she grabbed Will's hand and they walked away from her Orange-ness.

Will couldn't stop laughing as Lizzy held his hand and literally dragged him out of the museum.

"What are you running away from, Lizzy?" he asked pulling her back to him.

"Will, I do not want Caroline to spread false rumours about us. I'm just not ready to share the status of our relationship with our families yet, especially my mother," she said as she rolled her eyes.

"Relax Lizzy. I'm pretty sure Caroline is not going to say anything about us. In fact she would not want to give any credence to our relationship for fear of actually having to see us happy together," Will said.

"You may be right," Lizzy agreed, "although I wonder why she thinks of you as such a good catch," she teased as Will smiled and pulled her to him and kissed her in the middle of the sidewalk in full view of the bustling New York city traffic. He kissed her long and hard without so much as a care as to who may be watching. This was definitely something coming from someone who was known to dislike public displays of affection like it was the plague. Unknown to them Caroline had followed them down the street and took a picture of the two of them in mid-kiss on her phone. Caroline was angry and jealous to say the least. She wanted to have Will for herself at any cost - it was more like she wanted to have his money and rich life-style and having a handsome man like Will was an added advantage, she thought. Caroline was not sure how she would use the picture of them kissing. She thought about selling it to one of the tabloids or online sites that published celebrity sightings. She knew how much Will hated the tabloids, so that could be a good way of getting his attention but that didn't seem like a good enough way to take revenge on this little nobody called Elizabeth. Her blood boiled with envy as she saved the picture to be used later when the time was right.

Lizzy and Will put the Caroline-episode behind them as they walked around a bit more and decided to grab a bite to eat at a little Mediterranean restaurant. As they dug into their falafel sandwiches, Lizzy asked "What are your plans for the Saturday after next, Will?"

"Oh, Charles asked me to come over for the spring barbecue at their place," Will replied as he quickly checked his calendar on his phone.

"Same here. Jane asked me to go over. I'm wondering if we should let the proverbial cat out of the bag when we are there," Lizzy replied.

"Which cat?" Will asked.

"You know the part about the two of us being a couple now?" Lizzy asked gesturing between them.

"I'm fine with whatever you choose to do, Lizzy. I can tell the whole world right now for all I care."

"I'm fine too, Will, but it's just that my mother will embarrass the hell out of me with her behavior towards you. You can expect your bank balance to be announced from the roof-tops once she knows we are a thing," she winced.

"It's ok, Lizzy, I have as many odd-balls in my family as you do in yours. So I'll bear it with equanimity," he replied solemnly.

"Woah," Lizzy said very surprised by how well he seemed to have adjusted towards her mom's behaviour, "Who are you? And what did you do to the stuck up Darcy I knew?" she said in mock indignation.

Will sighed audibly. "Lizzy, I know I have been very inconsiderate in judging your family. They are loud and brash but trust me every family has their set of problem people. Look at Caroline in Charles' family for example," he shrugged.

"Alright then. We are letting the cat that is our relationship out of the bag next Saturday then," Lizzy replied as they headed out of the restaurant to Will's car.

Will drove them to Lizzy's apartment and parked at the curb. "What are you doing tonight?" Lizzy asked Will as she opened the car door to step out.

"Umm, I would like to do what we did the other night on the phone," Will said smirking and referring to their sexting episode.

"Will, you are shameless," Lizzy slapped his arm as she gave him a quick kiss.

"No actually, I would like to read your blog tonight," Will replied as Lizzy stepped out of the car and waved him good night.


	7. Chapter 7

Lizzy wore a white one piece shift dress with light pink needlework as she waited for Will to pick her up to go to Jane and Bingley's barbecue. It happened to be a beautiful spring day. She slipped on her sunglasses and strappy sandals. Will honked as he double-parked outside her apartment. Lizzy got into his car and gave him a quick kiss as they drove off.

The barbecue was becoming Jane and Bingley's yearly spring tradition. This was the second year in a row they had hosted their friends and coworkers in their 2-storied house in Westchester. Today the backyard was laid out with a few rustic looking tables and chairs with the barbecue setup to one side and drinks on the other. It looked perfect like everything else that Jane had ever attempted including her day job. In her day job, Jane was currently one of the top designers at Bingley's architecture firm. Jane and Charles had met at work and fallen in love and the rest as they say was history.

As Jane greeted some of their guests, she spotted Lizzy and Will getting out of Will's car.

"Lizzy!," Jane yelled as Lizzy walked over to her and gave her a tight hug.

"What does it take to meet my sister these days?" Jane asked as she looked at Will and gave him a hug as well. Charles came over to greet them and Will and Charles walked over to the drinks table.

"You came with Will?" Jane asked as the two sisters watched the men walk away.

"Ah, yes, he came over to my place and picked me up," Lizzy said vaguely as she felt her face flush a bit.

Jane's sisterly radars were abuzz. She suspected something was up between Lizzy and Will. Jane was not blind. She was totally aware of the invisible sparks flying in the form of sarcastic banter when Lizzy and Will were together. She had also seen how Lizzy looked at Will once in awhile as if she was going to eat him up. She also was aware of how Will looked at Lizzy all the time like he was going to lay at her feet and kiss the ground she walked on if she only let him. Jane sighed and decided that she would have to just give her sister the time to figure out her own feelings. She knew Lizzy would open up when she was ready.

Will walked over to Lizzy and offered her a mimosa that he had picked up at the drinks table. Lizzy asked him if he wanted to grab a bite to eat and they walked over together to the barbecue area. Lizzy picked up some grilled lamb and veggies and walked over to where Will was waiting with his food. They decided to sit down to eat. Will had a plate of grilled meat and veggies and a smaller plate full of fruit and what looked like white and dark chocolate fondue.

"You didn't bring any dessert, Lizzy?" Will asked as they were finishing the meats and veggies on their plates.

"Yeah, I'm not sure how I missed desert," Lizzy said as she leaned forward to pick up a chocolate dipped strawberry from Will's plate. She picked it up with her fingers and some of the chocolate dripped onto her hands.

"Hey, that's mine!" Will said just as she popped the strawberry into her mouth.

"Oops, I'm sorry," Lizzy replied and pouted while not actually being sorry at all. Will caught her hand and said "Nice try!" as he sucked her fingers into his mouth and licked the chocolate clean off her fingers.

"Will!" Lizzy gasped just as she turned to see Jane marching towards them.

"What's going on here Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy?" Jane demanded in her fake mommy voice.

Will laughed as Lizzy looked around trying to form an explanation.

"Jane," she said in a pleading voice, "well, Will and I, we are, umm.."

Will laughed louder as he stepped in to explain, "Jane, Lizzy and I have been seeing each other for about a month now."

Jane looked astonished as she looked between Lizzy and Will. "Is that true Lizzy?"

"Of course it's true Jane. I'll explain it all to you after the guests leave. I really have been wanting to tell you," Lizzy pleaded.

"OK Lizzy, I believe you," Jane said eyeing them both, "but we need to talk right after the barbecue is over."

Lizzy and Will were mildly amused at Jane's reaction as they proceeded to feed each other the remaining pieces of chocolate-dipped fruit. Their merry-making was cut short when they saw Caroline walking over to them.

"Well, Hello, who do I see here again!," Caroline said in mock surprise.

"Hi Caroline, how are you?" Lizzy said with as much civility as possible while Will ignored Caroline.

Caroline was not one to give up so easily. She dragged a chair next to Will and sat down. She patted his arm in mock affection as she said "Darling Will, I'm surprised that the two of you have still not outgrown each other."

Lizzy bristled as she said, "Caroline, William and I have actually decided to go steady with each other. So I would appreciate it if you could take your hands off my boy friend."

"There, there, Elizabeth," said Caroline condescendingly, "You may be his current flavor of the season but what do you know about treating a man who comes from one of the richest and oldest families in the country? I'm sure he will drop you like the country girl you are once he has had his fill."

Will had had enough of this by now. "That's enough Caroline," Will said cuttingly, "I only put up with your incivility because you are Charles' sister. This is the last time I'm going to ask you to be respectful around here." With that he took Lizzy's hand in his as he walked away.

"What are you running from, Will?" Lizzy asked the same question Will had asked her when she had dragged him out of the museum a few weekends ago.

"That stupid woman. I wonder where she gets her ideas of superiority from. I detest her and her ways," Will was visibly angry.

Lizzy pulled her to him and gave him the softest, most loving kiss ever. It was all she could do to calm him down and let him know that what others thought of their relationship did not matter.

Unknown to them a phone clicked pictures of them having a good time - pictures of them feeding each other strawberries earlier and now kissing each other in full view of other guests.

The barbecue was a huge success with much eating, drinking, music and impromptu dancing. It was evening by the time the last of the guests left. Charles shooed Lizzy and Jane inside saying he would oversee the cleanup.

The girls plonked themselves on the couch.

"Out with it," said Jane to Lizzy as soon as they had put their feet up.

"Oh Jane, I don't know where to start. It's just that Will and I, we finally seem to be noticing the chemistry between us. We admit we have feelings for each other and would like to see where this goes"

"Oh Lizzy. I'm so happy for you guys. I'm so happy that you guys have finally stopped being asses to each other," Jane grinned sweetly like only Jane could.

"I'm happy for us too Jane and I like being around him."

"Lizzy, have you done it yet?" Jane asked out of nowhere.

"Jane, it's.. it's complicated but we have decided to take our time and figure things out before taking our relationship to the next level," Lizzy explained hoping that was a good enough explanation.

Jane let it slide as she said, "Good for you Lizzy. Take as much time as you need."

Will and Charles walked in just then and announced that the cleaners had just finished their job. The four of them sat around chatting for some more time before it was time for Lizzy and Will to drive back to Manhattan. Jane got up to go to the kitchen to pack some leftovers for Lizzy and Will followed her to get himself a cup of water.

As Will was leaving the kitchen, Jane stopped him to say, "Will, I'm so happy for you and Lizzy. I hope you will enjoy this togetherness."

"Thanks Jane. I hope so too. I just want you to know that I'll do everything that is right by your sister."

"Thanks for the assurance Will and you better do right by her. If you hurt her, know that I'll find you wherever you are and shoot you," Jane said as sweetly and firmly as only Jane could.

Jane and Charles walked out to their drive-way to say bye to Lizzie and Will. As will backed the car out, Charles gently massaged his wife's shoulders and asked, "Do you think there is something going on between Will and Lizzy?"

"My darling husband, the idiots are finally trying to figure out their mutual attraction for each other. I hope this ends well for both of them," Jane replied as she pulled her husband inside.


	8. Chapter 8

The weeks flew by as Lizzy and Will spent more and more time together. They began to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses and quirks and crazies. Lizzy now knew Will invariably liked to be in control unless he implicitly trusted the other person to take control. There were very few people in his life he trusted, she learnt. Fortunately Lizzy was growing to be one among those he trusted completely. Will now knew that Lizzy also liked to be in control and that he had to win some and lose some to get ahead. He had learnt quickly that he could not always be the one paying for their dinners and dates for example. In fact him arguing that he made more money - so it was only logical that he pay - had been the cause for one of the first fights in their relationship as a couple.

They had learnt other things about each other as well. Lizzy learnt she loved to hear Will's voice on the phone the first thing in the morning. She claimed his bedroom voice on the phone sounded sexier than his boardroom voice. He joked that it was only natural because he was used to thinking about his sexy girlfriend in his bedroom whereas he had to deal with totally unsexy investors in the boardroom.

Will on his part learnt Lizzy was a great writer. He had become an ardent follower of her personal blog and read every book review she wrote there. He was also impressed that she had a following of a few thousand readers.

One other thing that Will surprisingly learnt was that Lizzy was a great cook. She joked that cooking was the one thing she actually did better than Jane.

Lizzy woke up on one such Saturday morning bubbling with energy. She had invited Will over for a cozy dinner at her home that evening. She had cooked bits and pieces for him before but never a full meal. As she showered before going to the farmer's market, she went over the menu for the evening in her head trying to make sure she had figured out everything she would need. She was not aiming for anything too fancy and at the same time she wanted to ensure that she was well prepared.

By the time Will rang the bell at her apartment in the evening, she had everything ready. She was wearing a dark blue halter dress that had a flared skirt that fell just above her knees. There were candles on the dining table with two place settings. The food was ready - baby spinach salad, hearty chicken soup, stuffed mushrooms and her favorite red pepper prosciutto pasta. She had picked up a few ramekins of panna cotta for dessert from the local store.

Her phone unexpectedly rang as she opened the door for Will. She motioned for him to come in. She picked up the phone seeing that it was her mom. She knew it could be a bad idea talking to her mom in front of Will but she also knew that her mom had been known to show up announced all the way from New Jersey if she really wanted to get a hold of her daughters. Lizzy definitely did not want her mom showing up at her doorstep tonight of all nights. She decided talking to her mom quickly was the better option.

"Lizzy!" Her mom shrieked excitedly as soon as she picked up, "When were you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what, mother?" Lizzy asked although she suspected her mom must have heard about Will and her from Jane.

Will gave her a sidelong glance and grinned as he realized who was on the other end of the call.

"When were you going to tell me you were dating the famous William Darcy? Were you going to tell me after you had his babies?" her mom continued.

"Mother, please, relax," Lizzy tried to save the situation as Will came up behind her and pulled her into his arms and kissed her hair.

"I had to find out from Jane!" her mom shouted, "But I have to give it to you, Lizzy, for bagging such a highly eligible bachelor."

"Mom, I didn't bag anything," Lizzy protested weakly while slowly banging her head on Will's chest as he chuckled.

"You know dear? I can give you some tips to keep his lasting interest. God knows! You need help," her mother continued as Lizzy tried to plug her ears. "Have you bought any fancy underwear, Lizzy, off-late? Use them!" her mom said. Will's chuckle grew louder as he was able to hear her mother's high-pitched voice through the phone.

Lizzy shuddered. "Mother," she said sternly "I'm not having this conversation about my underwear with you." She glared at Will to make him keep quiet as it seemed like he was about to burst into hysterical laughter.

Lizzy continued on the phone, "Yes, I admit Will and I are seeing each other. It would be lovely if you can be supportive without embarrassing me. I will be forever grateful if you can do that for me," Lizzy replied unable to hide her exasperation as she hung up the phone and threw it on the couch.

Will nuzzled her ears as he asked cheekily "Looks like more than one person is interested in your underwear."

She punched him as she said "My mom is a nutcase. Which other nutcase is interested in my underwear?"

Will's hands grazed the bottom of her skirt and up her thighs as he bent down to kiss her. His hands inched higher and higher as Lizzy moaned into the kiss. His hands had crept to the edge of her lacy panties when he breathed, "This nutcase for one." She pushed him away and righted her skirt. She needed to be sensible if they were going to have a proper dinner.

Will lead her to the table and pulled out a chair for her, being the forever gentleman he was. They started with the soup and salad and everything tasted delicious.

"How lucky can a man be?" Will wondered aloud with a twinkle in his eye, "thank you for the lovely dinner Lizzy."

"You are most welcome Will," she said, "although, apologies for that untimely interruption from my mom."

"It's not a problem, Lizzy. I understand she can be slightly overbearing but I can handle her as long as she is being nice to you. I have been in a few situations with your family where she is borderline rude to you and and that gets my blood boiling. And I'm sorry to say your dad doesn't help at all by choosing to be indifferent to her," he replied.

Lizzy smiled at him a tad sadly. This was the first time in her life where someone was not only understanding the dynamic between her and her parents but also willing to take her side.

"Don't worry about it, Will. I'm used to her methods by now. I usually just brush her off. I just hope she doesn't end up embarrassing you one of these days."

"It doesn't matter, Lizzy. I'm thick skinned and although she spouts verbal non-sense, she is pretty harmless most of the time. I can put up with her as long as she doesn't mess with your happiness and well-being," he replied. "But she has a point you know. You need to entice me more with your pretty underwear," he said smartly.

Lizzy opened her mouth to say something just as cheeky in return but he was too quick for her. He scooped a fork of pasta and snuck it into her mouth. She grinned at his playfulness as she returned the favor and fed him some of the mushrooms.

"Hmmm, orgasmic," he groaned as the grilled mushroom melted in his mouth.

They finished dinner and decided to eat dessert on the couch. Lizzy picked up two panna cotta ramekins and sat with her legs stretched out on the couch. Will sat at the other end of the couch with her feet in his lap. He massaged her feet gently. Lizzy was in a state of bliss. She licked the heavenly panna cotta off her spoon like a child as she relaxed and enjoyed Will's magical fingers massaging her toes. Will thought no one had looked as sexy and adorable as Lizzy did at that moment. He could not resist anymore. He moved off the couch and knelt on the floor beside the couch as he continued massaging her feet. He bent down and nibbled her toes. He kissed his way up to her ankles, to her calves, to her knees. He pushed her skirt up her thighs as he proceeded to follow his hands with his lips. Her skirt bunched around her waist as his hands explored her thighs.

"You need to stand up," he breathed

"Will, I can't," Lizzy gasped. She felt him pick her up and put her on her feet as he kneeled in front of her.

He pushed her skirt up again as he took in her sexy legs, smooth thighs and her black lacy panties.

"Beautiful underwear, Lizzy, you can tell your mom you have my lasting interest," he smirked before he hooked his thumbs into the waistband of her panties and pulled them down, "Lizzy I want to taste you, I need to taste you," he said looking up into her eyes.

Lizzy knew he was asking for permission as he did not want to push her into doing something she didn't want to do. But Lizzy was beyond thinking by now. She barely nodded and whimpered. She wanted his lips on her just as much as he wanted to taste her.

He hooked one of her legs over his shoulder as he positioned himself directly under her. Lizzy held on to his shoulders, his hair, anything that could keep her balance. He was licking and sucking her center as his fingers moved in and out of her. She was teetering at the brink of an orgasm. "Come for me, Lizzy." His ministrations became even more rapid as he watched her reach a glorious release. She didn't have the strength to stand on her feet any longer. She slipped down to the rug on the floor in front of him and kissed him with all her heart. She clung to him as they laid back on the rug and he spooned her. They were both comfortably asleep in each other's arms before they knew it. When she woke up it was still night. She pulled a blanket around both of them and snuggled into him. This was the first time they were spending the night together even though they had still not done the deed technically. She knew he was waiting for a clear indication from her to take their relationship forward. She looked at his sleeping face and was filled with a sense of belonging like never before. She also knew that she would be ready to take their relationship to the next level soon, very soon.


	9. Chapter 9

When Lizzy woke up the next morning she saw they were still on the floor in her living room and Will still had his arms around her. He was sleeping blissfully. He seemed to have woken up sometime in the middle of the night to get rid of his trousers and shirt. He was now in his boxers and t-shirt and he looked so handsome and adorable to her. She turned around fully towards him and kissed his lips gently. His arms tightened around her as he sighed into her hair. Lizzy giggled at him. She was utterly pleased with how well she had slept even though they were still on the rug on the floor in her living room.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked Will kissing his jawline.

"Hmm, hmm," he said as he woke up and smiled at her. "As they say, the sign of true love is being able to sleep comfortably with each other without doing the deed."

She was a little flustered at his use of the L word but she took it in her stride as she said "Ok, we don't have to do the deed ever then," and leapt up from the floor before he could grab her.

She did not know about Will but she felt ravenous this morning. She decided to get some coffee going and to make waffles and hash-browns for breakfast as she headed to the kitchen. Will came into the kitchen a few minutes later still looking so very handsome in his boxers and t-shirt. He came up behind her and kissed the back of her neck as she continued to mix the waffle batter. He noticed she wiggled her cute bottom as her hands held the egg beater. "Something smells good," he said as he nuzzled her hair. "Will, you are distracting me," Lizzy whined as she turned around to scoop the batter into the waffle-maker. Will let go of her and walked to the bathroom.

When he came out he saw Lizzy had set up two plates on the kitchen counter. He spied coffee and hash-browns and waffles and syrup and fruit and whipping cream laid out. His stomach rumbled in anticipation as he bent to give her a quick kiss before they sat down to eat. He again wondered how lucky he was to have such a wonderful woman in his life but he was a little worried about the night before and felt that he had to clarify his actions. This was the first time he had done *that* to her and he wasn't really sure where it fell in her line of expectations of taking things slow.

"Lizzy," he said, "I hope you were OK with how things went yesterday night," he attempted tentatively.

"OK? I was more than OK, Will, or did I not make myself clear with how vocal I was in my appreciation," she chuckled.

"Oh, you were vocal enough but still you know you wanted to take it slow and I'm not sure.. ," he continued nervously.

Lizzy did not have a tight schedule in her mind for how their relationship should progress. She was fine with things as long as they felt right. She realized she had to reassure him that she was fine with what happened the night before. She got up from her stool and went to sit on his lap as she kissed him deeply.

"Listen and listen carefully for I'm not going to say this again," she told him as she looked into his eyes, "You going down on me yesterday gets the title of best-i-ever-had. Do you understand?"

As he grinned and nodded, she continued "And that reminds me, I owe you something."

"You owe me something?" He said repeating himself like a parrot.

She turned around to scoop some whipped cream on her fingers and dropped it on his thighs.

"Oops," she said as she slipped off the stool to kneel on the floor in front of him.

"It's now your turn to stand up," she said

"Lizzyy.. You don't have to..," he said gasping as she tugged at him to stand up

"I want to. I need to. Besides I need to make sure I'm associated with the best-you-ever-had title too," she replied wickedly.

As he stood up she licked the whipped cream off his thighs slowly moving up his body like a cat.

She pulled his boxers down. Her cheeks redenned as she saw the size and girth of his manhood for the second time in her life. She momentarily left him as he groaned. Scooping up some more whipped cream she dropped it on his already hard member. As she knelt in front of him and sucked the living juices out of him, Will wondered if he had died and gone to heaven. She sucked and rubbed and licked and bit as he drowned in the best orgasm of his life. When he came back to feeling more like himself, he grasped her to him and held her in a tight hug. At that moment they both understood there was no one else with whom physical intimacy triggered such a deep emotional and psychological stirring for either of them.


	10. Chapter 10

As the weeks flew by Will and Lizzy had gotten into the habit of doing some of their morning runs together. They ran in Washington square park or in Central park for 5-6 miles before they both went back to their own homes to shower and head to work. On one such run Lizzy asked Will if he would like to go to her parent's place in New Jersey for lunch that Saturday. Her mom had been nagging her to bring Will and she had also invited Jane and Charles and some of their other friends from the neighbourhood. Will readily agreed in-spite of Lizzy's apprehensions about taking Will to meet her family.

"It's going to be fine, Lizzy," Will reassured her. Lizzy also told Will that she would have to come to her parents house directly from the airport as she was going to Philadelphia on work and flying back to New Jersey in the morning on that Saturday. Will said he would drive himself over to Lizzy's parents house and meet her there. They decided they would drive back to Manhattan together after lunch at her parents'.

"By the way, Lizzy, are you free to have dinner with me that evening on Saturday?" Will asked and Lizzy readily agreed. She was looking forward to spending time with Will that Saturday as she was going to be away on work in Philadelphia that week. She was sure she would have missed Will and would be waiting to get back to him by Saturday.

On Saturday morning, Will was surprised to be woken up around 7 am by his phone ringing. He picked up the phone to see it was Lizzy that was calling from Philadelphia.

"Will!," she said sounding somewhat anxious. "Looks like my flight has been cancelled and the next flight out is only in the afternoon. I'm not sure how I can make it to lunch at my parents' place today. I tried to rent a car and drive but they are all booked too."

Will thought quickly if there was a way to fix the problem. "Lizzy, shall I try to use my corporate account to see if there is a flight out?" he suggested. But Lizzy was unwilling to let him use his corporate account for her travel.

Will thought quickly again. It wouldn't be difficult for him to drive to Philly to pick her up. It was after all a 2.5 hour drive from Manhattan even with traffic. He could pick her up and drive them both to her parents' place in New Jersey. New Jersey was only a 1.5 hour away from Philly anyway. He explained that he would come pick her up.

Lizzy put her foot down and said "No Will, I cannot expect you to drive 2.5 hours from Manhattan for me," she said.

"Lizzy," he pleaded, "I have a fairly free morning. I can leave in the next half hour and I can be there by 10 am. It's not hard at all."

"No Will. I do not want to depend on you like this," Lizzy said.

"Lizzy, I know it's important for us to meet your parents and get it over with. I would like to come pick you up. Trust me it's not hard for me. I was anyway planning to listen to a few podcasts of shareholder meetings this morning which I can as easily do from my car as anywhere else. I'll be there in no time."

"No Will. I can take care of myself," Lizzy said adamantly

"Lizzy, I'm sure you can take care of yourself. I'm sure you will be fine without me driving over. I'm not trampling over your independence by caring for you," he pleaded again.

Lizzy relented finally, "OK, if you say so," she said. She had been wanting to go to her parents' house with Will and get it over with like Will had said. If he was anyway listening to podcasts then may be he was not wasting his time picking her up, she concluded.

Will had an easy drive to Philly. He picked Lizzy up around 10 am and they drove back to New Jersey chatting about their work weeks. Lizzy thanked him profusely for driving to get her and he brushed her thanks off without missing a beat. Lizzy realized finally that caring for someone does not imply trampling over their independence. She also realized she would have done the same or more for Will given half a chance.

When they parked and got out of the car at Lizzy's parents' house, Lizzy could already see her mom bustling around in the backyard setting up the food and such. Some guests had already arrived and Lizzy winced as she heard her mom brag to someone saying, "Oh, I'm sure the Darcy penthouse in the Upper East Side is worth over seven million dollars." Will squeezed her hand and smiled to show her mom's remarks did not bother him as they walked inside.

Lizzy was surprised by two things at lunch. One was that Will had brought some books from his private collection to lend to his dad. They were first edition books of *To kill a mocking bird* and *David Copperfield*. She learnt Will and her dad had talked about those books when they had met sometime in the past and Will had decided to bring them to her dad. Lizzy's dad seemed happy with Will and Lizzy being together but was not very openly complimentary. He just muttered something like, "Looks like Lizzy's taste in men has finally improved."

The second thing that surprised Lizzy was the presence of Caroline. She really wasn't sure why the said woman was there and decided to ignore her completely although she did feel Caroline constantly watching her and Will.

Her mom's behaviour while still embarrassing was nothing new. Her mom made it a point to brag about both Charles and Will to her neighbours. Both the men seemed to take it in their stride. Lizzy decided to learn from them and do the same. She was happy to see Jane as she didn't get to meet her sister as often as she would have liked. They still talked over the phone often enough and Lizzy kept Jane updated about her relationship with Will. Jane was happy that Will and Lizzy were getting to know one another and seemed to be enjoying their time together. The sisters sat together with their lunch plates as Lizzy saw Will and Charles sit with her dad to eat lunch. She also heard Will complimenting her mom openly for the great lunch spread her mom had put out. Lizzy felt warm and happy as she saw Will trying his best to mingle and be nice to her family. She was in a very happy place as far as her relationship with Will was concerned. She still had some concerns about taking their relationship to the next well. She knew the time had come but it seemed like she was afraid of something. She decided to talk to her sister about it.

"Jane, when did you know Charles was the one for you?" she asked her sister.

"Oh Lizzy," Jane said, "that's a tough question. I could say you know the person is the one when you feel all is right with the world when you look at them, but it's more than that. It's about the two of you being the right fit for each other - mentally, emotionally and physically."

Lizzy nodded. What Jane said made sense but she had more questions. "How do you know you are not in it too deep? How do you know you won't get hurt?"

"What do you mean?" asked Jane slightly alarmed at her sister's line of questioning.

"Oh, I only meant to ask if a couple gets too attached and then realize they cannot stay together for some reason or the other, then how does one move on from that?" Lizzy asked.

"Lizzy, do you have any reason to believe William will not stay with you?" Jane asked in return.

"I don't know Jane. He is all that is good but I know his family's expectations are for him to be with someone of a similar background as them. Even Caroline has told me that Will and I are mismatched in that respect," Lizzy said a little sadly.

"Lizzy," Jane continued, "For one, please don't listen to anything Caroline tells you. You know how uncouth she was when Charles and I were seeing each other and if Charles who is Caroline's own brother can ignore her, you can too." Jane smiled reassuringly as she continued, "It's natural to be scared of losing one's love but isn't it better to have tried than to have not tried at all?" Jane answered sensibly.

Lizzy nodded. Jane was right. Lizzy realized she was getting very very attached to Will. She shouldn't be scared of losing him, she told herself. She should welcome their attachment and appreciate his presence in her life. She should be thankful that they found each other against all odds. She decided she should also take their physical relationship to the next level as she believed physical intimacy only improved the connection between two people who were intrinsically so passionate about each other. She looked up to see Will still chatting amicably with her dad and some neighbours. He happened to look at her across the yard at the same time. As they smiled at each other Lizzy felt all was right with the world when this man was with her.

Will and Lizzy drove back from Lizzy's parents house in the afternoon. Lizzy asked Will if he could drop her off at her house first so she could get dressed and meet him at his place for dinner as they had previously planned. Will dropped her off at her apartment after telling her to get ready quickly and get herself over to his place as soon as she could. Lizzy smiled at his eagerness and promised him she would bring herself over to his place within the hour.

She went into her apartment and quickly showered. She wore her lacy green bra only to sheepishly realize that the matching panties were still with Will. She felt her body tingle just at the thought of her panties lying in his wardrobe. She dressed in a dark green wrap-around dress that hugged her body at the right places. She put on some light makeup and her nude-tone heels as she stepped out to hail a cab to go to Will's house.

When she entered Will's penthouse she could see he had gone all out to create a very romantic setting. There was a table for two set up in the dining area and there was soft music playing. Will pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the lips as he told her she looked gorgeous.

"Will, be that as it may, I believe you have a certain piece of clothing that belongs to me," Lizzy said saucily. She was bent upon playing this flirtatious game with him tonight.

"What kind of clothing are you talking about?" Will smirked pretending to not know although he knew exactly what she was referring to.

"I'll give you a hint. If you let me have it now, I'll let you take it off later," Lizzy whispered into his ears, "Besides I believe it is considered indecent for a lady to eat dinner without having that particular article of clothing on," she cooed.

Will knew he was being played by the best but what could he do? He was not a saint after all. His mind raced ahead to possible outcomes, each one of them sexier than the other, but he resolved to play it cool. His jaw clenched as he told her to go find her missing item of clothing. It was sitting right next to his stuff in his wardrobe. He couldn't take his eyes off her backside as Lizzy walked with a provocative sway of her hips to his bedroom to procure said item.

When Lizzy returned Will couldn't meet her eyes. He felt so aroused. He literally prayed for self-control if Lizzy still wanted to take their relationship *slow* that night. He had come to hate that word - slow. God help me, he thought. Neither of them knew how they managed to finish dinner without pouncing on the other. The air between them seemed to be electrically charged and each was sure that they would combust if the other one so much as glanced at them. Unfortunately two people with such strong characters can be quite stubborn if they so preferred. As they finished dinner, they still acted calm and collected so as to not be the first one to succumb to the others seductive ways. Lizzy walked to the living room nonchalantly holding her glass of dessert wine as Will followed as calmly as he could.

"So how is your sex life, Will?" she taunted him directly finally making eye contact.

Will's heart raced but two can play this game, he decided. Besides he was having too much fun and didn't want this to end anytime soon.

"As good as ever, Lizzy. As good as ever," Will replied

"I presume that means you haven't had any action in two or three weeks," Lizzy teased while knowing fully well that neither had had real sex since they had decided to go steady many months ago. They had kissed and cuddled and used their mouths and hands every chance they got but never the real deal.

"Two or three weeks?" Will burst out, "It's been more like six months and you know it. By the way, do you know what day it is today?" he asked.

"What day?" Lizzy asked sincerely confused and feeling like she didn't have the upperhand for the first time that evening.

"Well, today is the day you came to my house to return Georgie's books six months ago," Will whispered.

Lizzy's hand flew to her mouth. He was right. It had been six months since she had pounced on him in this very same living room. What a ride it had been for them since then! She suddenly felt silly playing this flirtatious game that she had been playing since she had stepped into his house that evening. She realized she just wanted to be with this man who had come to mean so much to her.

She walked over to him and said, "You know what? Nothing much has changed since that day. I still think I can have you anytime I want," she whispered.

"Yes, you can Lizzy," Will said matter of factly, "but why?"

Lizzy was taken aback "Why? What do you mean why?"

"You can have me anytime you want," Will clarified, "That is a foregone conclusion but my question to you is why do you want me?"

"Will," Lizzy faltered a bit. She had not thought he would give her a hard time about this but she had to come clean and let him know what she was feeling, she surmised. "Will, the past six months have been the most enjoyable in my adulthood as far as I can remember. I have loved being with you and I want to continue to have what we have here. I don't think I have known a better man in my life than you. So shut the fuck up and take my clothes off. I even wore the very same underwear as that night just for you."

Will laughed happily. He realized she still was wary of saying the 'L' word but he loved the fact that she had at least tried to express her feelings. He scooped her up as she gave a surprised yelp and threw her over his shoulder to take her to his bedroom. He placed her on her feet near his bed as he took a step back to look at her. He was so ready to tell her that he loved her but that would be too much for one night, he thought. Lizzy felt like she was going up in flames as he looked at her like he was going to ravish her. She slowly brought her fingers to the ties of her wrap-around dress. Will still looked into her eyes as she tugged at the ties. The ties loosened and the dress opened up in the front. She was wearing the same exact dark green lacy bra that she had worn the first time. Will's eyes finally dropped lower and Lizzy felt herself tingle wherever he looked.

"Get a grip woman," she told herself, "he is all but looking at you."

Will chuckled softly when he saw she had in fact found and worn her panties to dinner. He took a step towards her and pushed her dress off her shoulders.

"Lizzy, do you know what I want to do to you?" Will breathed.

"What?" Lizzy all but snapped. She was so wound up.

"Do you remember our phone sex? I told you to imagine my mouth kissing you all over then. I'll make good my promises today," he said as he kissed her forehead. "I want to kiss every inch of your body today."

Lizzy visible shivered at his words as he slowly kissed her jawline, her neck, her collarbone. He abruptly turned her around such that her back was to his chest. He flicked open her bra as he trailed a finger along her back. He whispered for her to turn around. He slowly trailed a finger from her shoulder down to the side of her breast to her waist and back up. Lizzy was losing her patience. She wanted to feel his mouth on her. She arched her body towards him silently begging him to lick her breasts as his lips grazed from her waist to her panties.

"You know I should have told you there's a price for this little piece of clothing," he said as his fingers skimmed the edge of her panties slowly.

"Price? I'll pay any price," Lizzy whispered brazenly.

"The price will be for you to have breakfast with me tomorrow morning without these things on," he smirked.

"That would be my pleasure," she replied. At this point she would have given anything he asked for. She realized he was trying to make sure that she stayed the night by making her promise breakfast. She also realized there was no other place she would rather be sleeping tonight than here in his bed.

"Take them off," he said as he stepped back to watch her take her panties off.

Lizzy held his gaze as she stepped out of her panties. He audibly gasped as he watched her standing gloriously naked in the middle of his bedroom. Her skin glowed as his eyes travelled all over her body. He stepped forward and started kissing her from head to toe as if he would die if he could not kiss her, as if he was a man trapped in a desert lapping up water from her body. He kissed her everywhere, he nibbled every inch of her as she clung to him. He finally scooped her up and kissed her fiercely on the lips and carried her to his bed. As he spread her legs and positioned himself to insert into her, he mumbled something that sounded very much like "God, how I love you" into her hair. It was drowned out by Lizzy begging him to take her harder. He was still being maddeningly slow as her body adjusted to his size. Lizzy bit his shoulder as she arched her body to egg him on. He lost control then and pummeled into her. "Open your eyes, sweetheart," he said as he looked at her. She witnessed the depth of his feelings for her in his eyes as he rode her till they both reached a divine rhythm, freely floating and at the same time freely falling, until his lips crashed into hers as their bodies climaxed in unison around one another. Wave after wave of the strongest feelings for him engulfed her as she held on to him begging him to complete her.


	11. Chapter 11

Will called Lizzy a few days later to ask her if she was willing to go with him to his company's anniversary party on a Friday in two weeks. He said he would love to have her meet some of his staff. Lizzy was excited to go see his office and meet his coworkers. She also made a mental note to find something reasonably fancy to wear. She wanted to make a good impression even though she was still a little apprehensive as Will had mentioned that some of his family would be present - most importantly his aunt and uncle on his mother's side who owned some partnerships in the family's firm.

She found a silvery grey silk dress that she hadn't worn in a while to wear to the party. It fit her well around her waist and fell in pleats just above her knees. She wore a pair of purple heels and earrings that went well with the dress. Will had asked if it was OK for them to meet at his place before going to the party. She still felt anxious during the cab ride to his place. This was after all the first time she was meeting any of his family other than Georgiana. She hoped they would be civil to her and she hoped she would have the patience to bear their snootiness if at all they were anything like her first impression of Will.

As she stepped into the foyer of Will's penthouse, Will walked up to her looking extremely handsome wearing a tuxedo.

He kissed her as he said "You look drop dead gorgeous."

"You don't look so bad yourself," she replied.

He asked her if she wanted a drink. As he went to fix their drinks he thought he should warn Lizzy to expect some press coverage at the event that night.

"Will, I'm OK with the press coverage as long as you are fine being seen with me at a work event," Lizzy replied.

Will looked at her squarely in the eye and said, "Lizzy, I'm fine announcing our relationship from the rooftop of my company if you let me."

"Will, to be honest I'm slightly apprehensive of meeting your aunt and uncle tonight more than the press," Lizzy admitted.

"Lizzy," will said, "I know they can be a little standoff-ish but I don't expect them to be rude, at least not my uncle. My aunt on the other can be a loose cannon at times. But I promise you, I'll stand by you whatever the evening might throw at us." Lizzy nodded although she was still not completely convinced about meeting his family.

Will's chauffeur drove them to Will's company. The party was on the terrace. The place was beautifully set up with white couches and cabanas and lit up with string lights. It was a perfect setting for a summer night in August. Lizzy and Will went around meeting many of Will's staff and employees. Lizzy was mildly miffed to see that Caroline was at the party as a guest of one of Will's employees. She decided she would just ignore Caroline as always and not let her affect her mood that night. As Lizzy stood chatting with a bunch of people from Will's legal team, she saw Will walk over to her. He asked if she was free to come meet his aunt and uncle. He squeezed her hand and whispered "I'm with you, sweetheart," as he took her to where his aunt and uncle were standing with a few other people.

"Aunt Catherine, this is Elizabeth, my girlfriend," Will said to his aunt.

His aunt turned towards Lizzy unsmilingly and said, "Nice to meet you," in a clipped tone.

"Nice to meet you too," Lizzy said.

Will turned to his uncle and introduced him as uncle Andrew. It wasn't hard to see that his uncle was the friendlier one. His uncle smiled genuinely as he shook Lizzy's hands and asked her about what she did. He was impressed with her work at the publishing company and it seemed like uncle Andrew had also read some of her book reviews on the New York Times where she had cross-posted a few reviews from her personal blog once in awhile.

"You never told me you cross-posted on the New York Times, Lizzy!," Will said quite surprised.

"You never asked," Lizzy replied sweetly, "and it is not a big deal. It is only for their online publication and not the one in print. So it's really not a big deal," she reaffirmed modestly as Will kissed her hair gently.

"And how did you guys meet?" interjected Will's aunt.

"Oh, we met through Charles Bingley and Jane. Jane is my sister," replied Lizzy

"Oh, so that's the connection. Did you both start seeing each other after the Bingley wedding?" asked his aunt.

"Now, now Catherine, do not go about interrogating the poor kids," interrupted uncle Andrew helpfully.

Thankfully for them, dinner was announced at that moment and Lizzy and Will went to find their table. They were seated with some of Will's staff and Lizzy enjoyed both the meal and the conversation. During dinner Lizzy realized she had heard so many stories that evening from Will's coworkers about how supportive he had been - both at work and sometimes even helping them out in their personal lives. She had seen him be very supportive of his own family and friends in the past but she now realized that his employees thought very highly of him as well. Her own prejudices against him in the past seemed frivolous to her now. He really was a good man if not the best of men and she could count him as one of her best friends now. She could speak to him about anything that was on her mind and she could expect an unbiased and logical and yet sensitive conversation in return. He was there when she needed him the most, be it to lend a shoulder when she had a difficult conversation with her mother or a difficult conversation with his aunt. She remembered how he had driven 3 hours to Philadelphia to pick her up a few weeks ago. She remembered he had loaned from his private collection, many first edition books to her dad. She remembered how he always complimented her mother's cooking even when she was being her obnoxious best. She realized how supportive he was of her job and her blogging and her other interests. She realized he was kind, sensitive, generous, loyal, steadfast and had a great sense of humour to boot. In that moment she realized she was falling in love with him and falling hard. She looked up to see the object of her affections standing with a group of people and laughing happily. She felt this sudden urge to go up to him and kiss the living daylights out of him.

Will saw her walk up to him. She seemed a little flushed as she grabbed him by the arm. He excused himself from the people he was talking to, as Lizzy pulled him towards a more secluded part of the terrace.

Neither of them saw Caroline watching them as they walked away from the crowd. Caroline was in a very bad mood that evening. She had been Will's date to his office party the previous year and she had been expecting an invitation from him this year as well. Instead she had to pitifully use her connections with a friend whose friend worked at Darcy's firm to get herself into this party. She was extremely angry that this little pest called Elizabeth had usurped her position as Darcy's date. Not only that, Caroline bitterly remembered Will had hardly spent anytime with her after bringing her to the party last year but this year he seemed to be smitten by this good-for-nothing Elizabeth and spent every minute literally physically attached to her. Caroline wanted nothing more than to break the couple apart and put Elizabeth in her place. She pointed her phone's camera towards Darcy and Elizabeth as they walked away from the crowd.

"What's going on, Lizzy?" Will whispered as they stepped into a secluded corner. "Shut up and kiss me," Lizzy said as she turned around and stood on her toes to kiss him fiercely. Will wasn't exactly sure what he had done to deserve this sudden display of affection but he wasn't complaining. "Lizzy..," he moaned as she deepened the kiss pressing herself into him, "I won't be able to stop if you keep kissing me like this," he said.

Unfortunately for them, they heard someone coming towards them agitatedly. They sprang apart when they heard his aunt say, "William! Is this how you behave? What has this woman done to you? I hope you will think about your family's name and connections before doing anything stupid with the likes of her. I'm sure she is after your money," she said angrily eyeing Lizzy. Lizzy was mortified at being caught by his aunt but his aunt wasn't done with her angry tirade as she addressed Lizzy now.

"Ms. Bennett! Girls like you might think you are above any requirements of public decorum. I know your kind. You pursue liberal arts and think your free thought and independence of mind are attractive to men, while all you are trying to do is to entice rich men with your bodies. I had thought my nephew to be more discerning than this but I should warn you to not apply your charms on him. You will not get anywhere. He is not going to marry some chit of a girl because he cannot keep his hands to himself."

Lizzy was infuriated now. "Mrs. De Bourgh," she said her eyes flashing, "Sorry to burst your bubble but I have no intentions of getting married to some rich guy just because he condescended to give me the time of the day. In fact I think love and marriage are overrated. Why would I care for love or marriage when I can find enough amusement and garner more than enough attention from guys like your nephew who, by your own admission, cannot keep their hands to themselves." She laughed for added effect as she turned to walk away. Lizzy knew she was spouting opinions that were not her own just out of spite. She of course cared for love - love especially for this man who was still holding her hand tightly but she was so enraged by his aunt's baseless remarks about her character that she couldn't stop her smartass tongue from lashing out.

"Aunt!," hissed Will as he still held on to Lizzy's hand, "please stay out of my relationship with Elizabeth. It is none of your business," as Lizzy dragged him out of there.

Catherine De Bourgh openly cursed as her nephew publicly put her down without any consideration to their family's standing. She swore to do everything in her power to stop her nephew from doing something stupid with that impudent girl. She did not know just then that she would find a willing ally in Caroline. As Caroline watched this animosity unfold, she knew this was her time to strike. She approached Catherine De Bourgh and introduced herself as Charles Bingley's sister. Catherine De Bourgh knew about the Bingley family and knew they were money'd enough but not in the same league as the Darcy-Fitzwilliam-DeBourgh family. Caroline went on to sympathise with Catherine's predicament. She said she was appalled by people having no respect for class and traditional values anymore. She narrated how she had tried to do the right thing with Darcy but Darcy had spurned her because he seemed to have eyes only for this Bennet girl off-late. Caroline asked if Catherine would be willing to meet her for tea someday so she could explain a plan that she had in mind to break up Darcy and Elizabeth. They exchanged phone numbers and parted after agreeing to meet soon.

As Will and Lizzy walked away from the scene, Will thought Lizzy would be infuriated by his aunt's words but he was shocked to see Lizzy laughing somewhat loudly as he dragged her away.

"Who is this woman and which century does she live in!" she laughed.

"Lizzy, my aunt is old fashioned and has this notion that I should only associate with and marry someone so we can expand the family's businesses. I sincerely apologise on her behalf. Like I said before my family has its share of crazies who happen to think money is more important than love," he said.

"Umm, Will, I don't really care what your aunt thinks about love as long as you don't think the same," Lizzy whispered seriously.

"Sweetheart," said Will, "Trust me. I only care about what you and I think about love. I do not care about what my aunt or anyone else thinks for that matter. They all can go to hell for all I care," Will said, leaving her gaping after him as he went to talk to some people who had been waiting to talk to him.

Lizzy could feel the flush on her face. Her realization earlier that she was in love with him and all this talk about love from Will had left her feeling extremely flustered. How had they come to be talking about love of all things and that too at his office party in the midst of all this craziness! Did he mean to say he loved her with his last statement? Her heart raced as she watched him chatting with his team. He turned to look at her at that exact moment and gave her a heart-stopping smile. Lizzy decided no one had any business looking at her like that and ruffling her heart so. On an impulse she decided she wanted to make him feel exactly how he made her feel. She started to form a plan in her head to seduce Will Darcy that night.

She walked upto him and whispered huskily into his ears so that only he could hear, "Will, do you have your phone with you?"

Will looked at her quizzically as he said "Umm, yes."

"Make sure to check your messages in 20 minutes," she whispered as she walked away from him with an exaggerated swaying of her hips.

Will had half a mind to go after her but he knew it would be odd to follow her like a puppy when his team was watching him.

Lizzy walked downstairs quickly. She wanted to get to the library that Will had in his building. She knew he had converted the whole of the 5th floor into an expansive library. As she went down to the 5th floor she hoped that it would still be open at this hour and more importantly she hoped she wouldn't find anyone in there. She was determined to make his fantasy of having her in the library come true today. She found the door to the library and gently turned the knob. She almost broke into a little jig when she found it was open. She walked in and quickly shut the door. The library was lit up in a soft warm light that was perfect for what she had in mind. She found an aisle at the back with massive floor to ceiling book shelves. She felt extremely sexy and hot just thinking about what she was going to do. She slowly stripped the grey silk dress off her and took her slip off as well. She ruffled her hair a bit to look sexy. She now stood in just her purple lacy bra and panties and purple heels. She leaned her back on a shelf that made her breasts jutt out a bit, she held the book case with one hand as she held her phone with the other and took a picture of herself leaning so. She looked smoking hot even if she were to say so herself. She quickly sent the picture to Will with a caption "Mr. Darcy, you and me in your library?"

Will was still on the terrace and becoming impatient. What was she up-to? As he excused himself from the group he was talking to, he saw a message popup on his phone from her. He tapped his phone to open the message and tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the message to open. What he saw next nearly made him yelp loudly. There she was standing sultrily against the bookcase in his library. "This woman, will be the death of me, but what a way to go!" he thought to himself as he half walked, half ran down the stairs. He walked into the library and softly closed the door making doubly sure to lock it. He walked to the aisle at the back and drew in his breath as he saw her by the book shelves. She saw him at the same moment and their eyes locked. They could not look away even if they tried. Will walked upto her with his left hand in his pant pocket as he slowly grazed her cheekbones with his right.

Lizzy suddenly felt suddenly sheepish about her own behavior. She turned away from him unable to meet his eye and faced the books on the shelf now. She could feel him come behind her as he drew a sharp breath.

"Do you know how sexy you are?" he said, "The things you do to me.." he said unable to stop himself.

He slowly pulled her back into his chest as he kissed her neck. Lizzy thought she would burst into flames.

"Will," she whispered, "I feel like I didn't think this through. Someone might walk in on us," she said.

"I locked the door," he said as his hands fondled her breasts and his lips kissed her spine. She arched into him as his fingers found the band of her panties and pushed them down. She gasped as he parted her legs and pushed his fingers into her folds. She was dripping wet already in anticipation. She was still standing with her back to him. She moved her hands behind her to touch him but he was still fully clothed. She groaned in frustration and tried to turn around in his arms so she she could undress him. But he would not let her.

"This is my fantasy, Lizzy," he whispered.

Usually she was not one to lose control to a man in the bedroom or in the library for that matter but there was nothing she could do right now. With Will, all her self imposed rules flew out the window. Her moans got louder as his fingers explored her folds like only he could. He pinched her nipple with one hand as she teetered on the edge and exploded into a mind-blowing orgasm.

She couldn't control her emotions any longer for this beautiful, wonderful man. She turned around to grasp his face and kiss him everywhere. She undressed him frantically and continued to kiss him. Will was already losing his mind. Seeing her raging orgasm usually did him in. Now she went down on all fours in front of him as she slyly turned toward him and smiled. Will had no doubts as to what she wanted him to do. He positioned himself behind her and pushed himself into her in one stroke.

"Lizzy, I can't control myself any longer," he breathed.

"I don't want you to control yourself," she whispered as she wiggled her bottom.

As she heard him shudder her muscles clenched repeatedly around him as they both reached a glorious release together.

When she woke up a few hours later, she saw she had been comfortably sleeping on a couch in the library with a warm blanket around her. She smiled thinking he must have moved them sometime in the night. She turned around to see where he was but couldn't find him anywhere. She panicked as she tried to find her phone. She saw there was a message from him on her phone. She was worried if something had gone wrong and he had to leave. She opened the message with shaking hands to see a picture of him. She gaped as she saw the picture he had sent her. He had sent her a picture of himself sitting in what seemed to be his office. He was sitting on his large high-backed chair behind what looked like a fine oak desk. He had taken off the jacket of his tuxedo but still wore his white shirt which was unbuttoned down the front. His bow tie was untied and hung loosely around his neck. He held what looked like a glass of scotch in his one hand as he looked broodingly into the camera. The caption to the picture said,

"Sweetheart, you and me in my office?"

"Pervert," she thought but she had to admit she was extremely aroused just looking at the picture. She dressed as quickly she could, back into her grey silk dress. She held her heels in her hands as she all but ran to take the elevator to the 20th floor. Thankfully she remembered him saying his office was on the 20th floor, so she knew where to go. She tiptoed out of the elevator and knocked on the door to his office softly.

"Come," said his voice from inside.

She opened the door and stepped inside. He was still sitting on his chair like in the picture he had sent her and looking sexy as hell. He grinned at her as she walked up to him. She straddled his lap as if she owned him and pulled his face to her and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. His hands grabbed her bottom as he said "Up." He lifted her easily off his lap and deposited her on the desk in front of him. He spread her legs and positioned her feet on the arms of his chair as he scooted his chair forward. Much to her embarrassment, she was spread open to him and his face was correctly positioned at the level of her hips in this position. He grinned wickedly as he pushed her dress up and saw she hadn't had the time to wear her panties. "I see you got here in a rush. Lie back," he said as she obediently did as she was told. She couldn't have done much else anyway. She was aroused beyond herself and she ached to feel his lips on her so very badly. He took his time to fondle her and lick her as she moaned and gasped and finally screamed his name. Just as she was recovering from her climax he told her to stand up again as he led her to the huge floor to ceiling window. "Will," Lizzy whimpered. She wasn't sure she could do it again for one and two she was worried about how transparent the window was. "Lizzy, the window is tinted, no one will see you from the outside," Will whispered as he lifted her hair out of the way and kissed her neck. Her back was facing his chest as she put her palms on the window to brace herself. It was amazingly sexy to see them both highly aroused in the reflection of the window. He pushed her dress up to her waist as he caressed her bottom. He bent down to bite her deliciously round bottom as she squirmed and pressed her body to the window. He pushed her dress even higher and pulled it off her completely. Now she was standing fully naked with her front pressed to the window. "Beautiful," Will growled, "watch yourself, Lizzy," he said as he proceeded to spread her folds so she could see herself in the window. It was extremely arousing as he pushed his fingers into her. "Are you watching yourself?" he asked her. She mutely nodded as he took his fingers out of her and put them into his mouth and licked them greedily. He turned her around abruptly to face him and kissed her hard. "Will," she whimpered as he bent down and brought one of her breasts into his mouth. His fingers dragged slowly to her folds and expertly found her clitoris again. As his fingers rubbed her, his teeth bit her nipples lightly. She couldn't care less if she was standing with her butt naked at a window. The coolness of the window on her back and the warmth of his body before her sent her over the edge. She had lost count of the number of times he had made her come but all she knew was she wanted more. He grasped her bottom to lift her as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He plunged into her deeply as she grabbed and bit his shoulder and raked her hands through his hair. He plundered her body but was still not spent. He turned her around so her front was facing the window again as she steadied herself by placing her palms on the window. He spread her legs even more as she leaned her body forward. He dropped to his knees behind her. Her swollen clit was beautifully open and available to him again. He licked every drop of her dripping clit as she screamed loudly. "Please Will, I need you." His tongue licked her just as his fingers probed her as her body arched and reached another roaring climax.

It seemed like the two of them could not have enough of each other that night. She turned around and pushed him to lie flat on his back on the floor as she straddled him. She took his engorged member into her mouth as he held himself up on his elbows to watch her. He loved watching what she did to his body. He couldn't control himself any longer as she sucked and swallowed and sucked and swallowed alternatingly. He pulled her to him roughly as if his breath depended on her and kissed her. She pushed his shoulders to make him lie back again. It was clear she wanted to be in control as she slipped herself around his member in one stroke. She rode him majestically, rising and lowering herself into him again and again. He grabbed her bottom as they both rose and met at a wondrous peak before they swooped down together as their worlds merged and shattered into a million stars.


	12. Chapter 12

Caroline had thought she was the luckiest girl alive when she got to know Charles had befriended William Darcy during their college days at Harvard. She still remembered how thrilled she was when Charles had brought Darcy home during one of their college breaks. She was convinced she could charm him and marry into old money and fulfill her dream of living the life of the truly rich and famous. In all honesty, she was more interested in his family money and status than the man himself. Truth be told Darcy bored her most of the time with his academic and business pursuits and she had no interest in debating with him the adverse effects of climate change or about the fluctuating price of the Euro. She did not subscribe to any of the elitist, modernistic views that some women held about liberation and emancipation and independence and such. Her requirements for a good life were fairly practical and straightforward she thought. Her happiness basically hinged on her living in a posh neighbourhood, riding luxury cars wearing the latest fashion to socialize with the upper circles. In her scheme of things having a partner to procreate was a necessary obligation but almost secondary to the other requirements.

As she now sat in the tea room of the Four Seasons hotel waiting for Catherine De Bourgh to arrive, she went over in her head the plan she wanted to put forth. She had already set the plan into action a few months ago. Completely unknown to Darcy and Elizabeth, she had captured a few compromising pictures of them in their private moments. She knew first-hand how Darcy safe-guarded his own privacy and that of his friends and family members. She had seen him enraged when a member of the press had published a picture of herself hanging on to his arm at a private event. She had seen him bite the head off of the poor media guy. And all this drama for a fairly insipid picture, she thought. The pictures she had now were atomic bombs compared to the lame pictures that the press usually managed to get. She had three sets of pictures in her arsenal - a set of pictures with William and Elizabeth kissing openly on the street in front of the Guggenheim; a set of pictures of Will erotically sucking Elizabeth's chocolate smudged fingers at Charles' barbecue; and a set of pictures of them kissing hotly and almost groping at the office party before Catherine had called them out. She had even printed one of the more decent kissing pictures to shock and awe Catherine at the meeting today. She felt extremely confident of her plan as she saw Catherine being ushered into the tea room.

"Alright Ms. Bingley. What is your plan?" asked Catherine even without so much as a hello.

"Well, hello to you too Mrs. De Bourgh," replied Caroline. "What I'm going to tell you is rather scandalous. So brace yourself and do not blame me for not warning you if you cannot stomach it. I intend to screw Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship and will not stop at anything short of that."

Catherine liked a girl who knew what she wanted. She definitely wanted to know what this girl had in mind. "Explain yourself," she said calmly.

"Alright, here is a picture of Darcy and Elizabeth that I want you to see," Caroline said as she placed in front of Catherine a picture of the couple kissing modestly. She knew she had caught Catherine unawares even as the older woman tried to keep an expressionless face. "I have more pictures in a similar vein as this one and believe me when I say each is more amorous than the other."

Catherine was definitely intrigued by the wickedness of the woman before her. "I'm impressed Ms. Bingley," she said openly, "but what are you going to do with these pictures?"

Caroline laughed openly as she said, "I'm going to sell them to the press. I know how Darcy detests the press. I'm sure he will be mad as hell if such pictures of him with his lover come out."

Catherine agreed that Darcy detested the press and the pictures would definitely make him mad but she was not sure how the pictures would actually be useful in breaking up Darcy's relationship. "I think you have not thought this through, Caroline," she said without mincing her words. "Here's what I think you should do," she continued. "For one, you need more ammunition in the form of pictures. You said you have three sets of pictures of them from different events but that may not be enough. Two, you need to leak the photos but you need to be able to do it such that you pin the blame on the Elizabeth girl."

For the first time that afternoon Caroline felt she had in fact not thought this through. She was simply amazed at how conniving Darcy's aunt was and she had to give it to the older woman for her simply brilliant ideas. She told her as much and asked, "But where will I get more pictures of them? It's not like I can get into his bedroom. I would have to use a private detective or some such to bug his place and that just seems too dangerous."

Catherine smiled slowly, "You cannot get into their bedroom but you may be able to get into their phones or computers. I hear kids these days store all kinds of perverted pictures on their phones."

If Caroline was mildly impressed before she was bowled over now by Catherine De Bourgh. No wonder this woman managed the family trust of one of the richest families in the country, she thought. "I'm bowled over by that idea, Catherine," she said. "I'm sure I can sneak into their phones one of these days but still how do I pin the blame on Elizabeth?" she asked.

Catherine considered Caroline's question for sometime before she said, "Did you know this Elizabeth writes a popular blog? What if we could get her credentials and post a blog as if authored by her on her site with a provocative story and your pictures detailing how she seduced the rich Mr. Darcy for fun and profit?"

Caroline's head was spinning. This woman before her was an evil strategist like no other. "Catherine, are you for real?" she asked, her eyes wide with admiration as she continued to say, "I have seen Elizabeth leave her computer unlocked at my brother's place when she visits her sister. May be I can work on the story before hand and quickly upload it to her site when she is away from her computer. It's a public blog, so all her readers will see the pictures and the press will pick up the story in no time."

Catherine nodded approvingly. She was impressed Caroline had a working plan in place already. She still had one more thing to clarify however. "So, Caroline, can you please clarify to me what you are getting out of this?" she asked.

Caroline breathed deeply as she wondered how she could succinctly explain her lifelong fascination for the Darcy family. "Catherine, My main goal is to break Darcy's relationship, so I don't have to fight that slut of a girl for his attentions. When Darcy looks at our fake post on the blog and realizes how his Lizzy has seduced him for her amusement, he will be livid, he will go ballistic, he will be shattered. His heart will be broken and I'll be readily waiting in the sidelines to pick up the pieces of his broken heart and mend it with my affections. I'm sure I can charm him and get him to marry me. I wait for the day when I can be part of your illustrious family. I can already see what a great team you and I will be when that happens," she beamed.

Catherine sighed. Catherine wanted to break Darcy's relationship not because she wanted to welcome this Bingley woman into the family but because she had grander plans in place for Darcy. She wanted him to marry the daughter of a shipping magnate whose family had shown immense interest in joining forces. But alas, now thanks to this miss nobody called Elizabeth, her hope of partnering in a multi-billion dollar deal was trampled. She thought for a moment before she looked Caroline squarely in the eye and said, "Caroline, I support you in your decision to break up their relationship but I'm certain Darcy will not rebound to you." Before Caroline could interrupt she continued, "Know this. If you are successful in your endeavours in breaking them up and still are unable to procure Darcy's hand, I'll promise you a reward in terms of my mentorship of you. I'll put you in the path of other rich men who are above your current social circles. I'll make sure you land yourself in a prominent New York family."

Caroline smiled. She was not a fool. She quickly understood that Catherine had in mind some other grand plan for Darcy and she, Caroline was not part of that plan. She was nothing if not practical in her pursuit of a life of luxury. A life of luxury was important to her not the source of the lifestyle itself. The source of that lifestyle did not have to be Darcy, it could be any Tom, Dick or Harry as far as she was concerned. She realized Catherine was a mastermind and it would be extremely beneficial for her to be in the woman's good books and have her mentorship. She was happy with the outcome of this meeting. She readily agreed to what Catherine suggested as she started to plan her next move.


	13. Chapter 13

Caroline was a people observer. She knew many things about people's habits and routines that they didn't know about themselves. For example she knew Charles was in the habit of always sleeping on the right side of the bed. She knew Jane always ate her peas before her carrots. From her short meeting with Catherine, she knew Catherine took 1 cream and no sugar in her coffee. She also knew Darcy always left his phone unattended when he went for a swim in his pool. He would leave the phone many times unlocked and playing music on one of the chairs or tables around the pool in his penthouse. She instinctively knew that had to be her best chance of getting her hands on his phone for her plan to work. Now how could she go about getting access to his phone while he was in the pool? That was going to be her next hurdle. She thought of many ways of getting invited to Darcy's penthouse but each one of them had some flaw or the other. Her chance finally came when she got to know Charles and Darcy were planning a pool volleyball game with some of their friends and luckily for her Charles was looking for a fifth for his team. He grudgingly accepted Caroline into the team mainly because the game was coming up and he still did not have a full team, and in her defense Caroline had played high-school volleyball for sometime. Caroline was excited beyond words at this rare opportunity and she promised she would be very nicely behaved towards everyone including Elizabeth.

It was decided that Charles' team would include himself, Jane, Elizabeth, Caroline and Charles' work buddy, Peter. Will's team would include himself, Georgie and Georgie's three friends who were visiting with her from Europe during their school's autumn break. Will and Lizzy were super excited to be meeting Georgie after almost nine months. This would be the first time Georgie would be seeing them as a couple. Lizzy stayed with Will in his penthouse the previous evening. Georgie arrived with her friends late in the evening and simply couldn't contain her excitement on seeing her dear brother and one of her best friends together. She smiled from ear to ear as she hugged them both and jumped up and down for five minutes straight. The friends sat around chatting and catching up.

As they finally decided to call it a night, Georgie asked Lizzy without even thinking, "Lizzy, which room do you have now? Can you sleep in my room tonight so we can giggle and catch up some more?"

Lizzy grinned awkwardly as she looked between Will and Georgie for help. Will seemed to be dumbstruck as he tried to figure out how to explain their sleeping situation to his sister. He opened his mouth to clarify when Lizzy stepped in to say, "Sure Georgie, I can sleep in your room tonight. That should be fun," although she didn't sound very convincing at all. Georgie turned beet red finally realising what she had said. Of course the two love birds would be sleeping together and going at it like bunnies, she thought to herself as she face-palmed herself. Will opened his mouth to say something and then closed it not knowing what to say. Georgie decided she had to step in to make the two lovely morons understand that they didn't have to sacrifice their "quality time" together for her. "Guys, excuse my stupidity. You have my express permission to go at it like bunnies as long as you are taking the usual precautions," she grinned, "I'll just have to use ear plugs when you two are around," she added as she sprinted up the staircase two at a time to get to her room before her brother smacked her or died of embarrassment or both. Lizzy and Will couldn't stop laughing as they walked up to Will's bedroom.

"You would leave me and go sleep in her room at the first chance?" Will pouted playfully once they were in the privacy of his room. It had been a few months since they had finally done the deed but they were still going at it like bunnies like Georgie had correctly guessed. It didn't surprise him they had been insatiable for each other. Besides this was the first time they were getting together that week.

"Get a grip you horny man," Lizzy teased as she kissed him.

"I'm horny, Lizzy. It's the truth. I ache for you all the time," said Will huskily.

"Looks like my poor baby is feeling neglected. Do not worry. Dr. Lizzy is here and she will cure all your aches and pains," she said mockingly.

"Dr. Lizzy, what is your specialization?" Will whispered suggestively into her ears.

"William Darcy, I'll have you know I can give you a thorough physical," she smirked

"Confucius say - you want beautiful doctor, you have to be patient," Will replied as they both laughed at his Confucius humour.

"Now for that physical," said Lizzy in a fake doctor voice, "If you can please take off your clothes and lie down, I can run some tests to get to the bottom of this."

Will was only too eager to comply, "At this rate, I'm going to become addicted to physicals with you Dr. Lizzy," he grinned as he undressed slowly for her benefit.

As he laid down on the bed he pulled her to him and said, "Lizzy, You are what I ache for and You are my cure. You are my madness and You are my sanity. You are my beginning and You are my ending." Lizzy's already slipping control crashed to the floor as she heard him reassure her of his feelings so poetically just as their bodies joined and caressed and careened together poetically. As she floated back from her climax, she wondered why neither of them had still not said the three little words to openly reaffirm their feelings when it was obvious how strongly they felt for each other. She guessed correctly that he was likely waiting for a sign from her. She resolved to let him know that she did not fear being in love anymore. She realized loving him did not make her weak, it did not make her less independent, it in fact made her feel strong and it set her free.


	14. Chapter 14

Charles and Jane came over to Will's the next morning. They explained and almost apologized that they had to bring Caroline into their volleyball team. Charles even said that he would boot her out of the team the minute she did or said anything rude to anyone. The friends ate lunch together as they waited for the rest of the people to arrive. Caroline walked in an hour later and she greeted everyone cordially for a change. Lizzy again decided to ignore her as much as possible. Everyone changed into swimsuits and headed to the pool. There was friendly ribbing going on with everyone warming up and trying to show off their skills in the pool. The game finally started and it seemed like Georgie and her friends were definitely the better players giving Will's team the upperhand. Lizzy and Jane hooted like banshees trying to boo the other team every time they scored.

No one noticed that Caroline didn't seem to be into the game at all. Unknown to the others she was carefully looking around for Will's phone and just as she had expected she saw it lying on a table where they had setup some snacks and fruit for half-time. No one missed Caroline as she mumbled that she was feeling dehydrated and walked to the snacks table. She made a show of drinking water. She also took her time picking up some fruit. With her back to the rest of the people in the pool, she spied his phone. It was unlocked just as she had suspected. With a slow, gradual movement, she dragged it towards her and started browsing through the pictures on the phone. There were quite a few pictures of a project he was working on at work. She kept paging down but didn't find anything useful or interesting. She was about to give up when she spied a picture of what looked like a Victoria Secret's model in her intimates. Her heart raced as she tapped to view the picture in full size. She gasped as she saw that it was indeed a picture of Elizabeth wearing a pair of purple bra and panties and leaning against a book-shelf in a library. Caroline could not believe her luck even as she felt extremely jealous at how sexy Elizabeth looked. She quickly sent an email of the picture to herself. She breathed a sigh of relief as she noticed that the people in the pool still didn't seem to have missed her. She was highly intrigued now. May be she would find more kinky pictures of them if she continued scrolling. To her absolute shock she found a picture of Will sitting in his office wearing a white shirt with the buttons open in the front. His toned chest was enticingly visible and he looked hot as hell. She sent that picture as well to her email as she continued browsing. She found one more picture of Elizabeth standing in front of a mirror with a sultry look, again in her underwear, in what seemed like Elizabeth's bedroom. She simply could not believe her luck as she sent that picture to her email as well.

She could feel herself perspiring under tension as she placed his phone back in its place. She sat down then on a chair and drank more water. "Caroline, are you coming back or what? You have been gone for all of this quarter," called Charles. She complained that she had developed a headache and she would like to sit out of the game. She might have really developed a headache as she realized that the picture of Will sitting with his shirt open in his office could only mean that the two of them had done it in his office. She told herself to remain calm and not think about losing Will. She had lost that battle already and she was OK with it. Right now she had to focus on succeeding in her current plan, so she could procure Catherine as her benefactor and work her way up the social ladder. She closed her eyes and plotted her next move.

The weekend was turning out to be better than Caroline had ever expected. She was so close to her end goal. She excused herself from the game and went in to shower and change. As she walked by the guest bathroom she spied a laptop sitting open on one of the side tables. She quickly ran towards it and clicked the mouse to see who the laptop belonged to. She gasped as she saw it was in fact Elizabeth's laptop and it was unlocked. She quickly opened the browser to see Elizabeth was in fact logged in to her blog as well. It looked like she had been working on drafting a new post for a review of the book "Crime and Punishment." How apt, thought Caroline as she hurriedly stepped away from the laptop trying to formulate what she had to do. Time was of the essence here. She quickly checked the pool area once more to make sure that the others were still playing. She threw on a dress on her swimsuit as she opened her own laptop. She had already drafted the story she was going to use. She downloaded the new photos that she had mailed herself on to her laptop. She attached the new photos to the story and edited the story for the right effect. She had to give it to herself - the story sounded extremely scandalous. It was written in first-person and read like a sordid tale of how Elizabeth had proudly set out to seduce Darcy and teach him a lesson for his snobbish ways. She quickly reread the story two times to make sure it sounded like she wanted. She made sure it had the right tone to pin the blame on Elizabeth. When she was satisfied with how the story sounded, she decided the time had come to pull the trigger. It seemed like all the stars were aligning today and she didn't want to miss this perfect opportunity.

She walked outside to the pool to see that the others had stopped playing but were still frolicking in the pool. They were too busy doing cannon ball dives into the pool. Caroline walked back in quickly. She was so happy she had come prepared for this. She downloaded the story from her laptop onto a thumbdrive she had brought along. She ran quickly but quietly to Elizabeth's computer and transferred the story from her thumbdrive to Elizabeth's computer. She quickly opened Elizabeth's blog and hit upload. The story uploaded correctly on the first go. She titled it "How to kiss a billionaire and tell it all!" and hit publish. She had the presence of mind to change the password of Elizabeth's blog account so she could control it henceforth. She quickly glanced around to remove any piece of evidence from Elizabeth's laptop. She packed her own laptop and thumbdrive and made sure the place looked just as it was before she came in. She went to the pool and made her excuses to Charles saying she was really having a bad headache, so she would take herself home. She thanked Will for having her and walked back into the house. If anyone was surprised by her sudden departure they didn't say anything. She ran out of the Darcy penthouse panting a bit. She slowed down and acted as normal as possible to not get any attention to herself. She calmly walked to her car and drove herself home with a smile on her lips. She was elated. She was relieved. She had finished her task with flying colors. Now all she had to do was sit tight and wait for the proverbial shit to hit the fan. She fixed herself a drink and thought about how her life was about to change while the internet went about doing its job for her. By now readers around the world would have started reading the article and it would only be a few hours before the press got their hands on it. She reviewed the article in her head and congratulated herself for the genius she was.

How to kiss a billionaire and tell it all!

Hello dear readers,

This might come as a surprise to you for I have decided to deviate from my regular programming, but do not worry, this new post will be well worth your time! Hold your horses and your hearts! I'm going to tell you the story of how I personally seduced the great Fitzwilliam Darcy. Mr. Darcy, the greatest snob of high-society, had assumed he could walk all over us little nerdy girls from back-country New Jersey but he had another thing coming. So sit back and relax and read on as I tell you how I brought the great Mr. Darcy to his knees and made him beg for more.

He thinks he is a cool cat but he melts into a big puddle at the offer of a silly kiss.

Here Caroline inserted the picture of them kissing in front of the Guggenheim museum

He thinks he is suave but I had him panting like a rabid dog by showing him my underwear.

Here Caroline inserted the picture of Elizabeth in her bedroom

He thinks he is sophisticated but I had him literally sucking up to me at my sister's place.

Here Caroline inserted the picture of Darcy licking Elizabeth's chocolate smudged fingers at Bingley's barbecue

He thinks he is well-read but here's what he really did in the library.

Here Caroline inserted the picture of Elizabeth in her underwear leaning against the bookshelf

He thinks he has excellent manners but here is what he did at his office party.

Here Caroline inserted the picture of them kissing at Darcy's office party

He calls himself a CEO but here is what he did in his office as he waited for some action.

Here Caroline inserted the picture of Darcy sitting with his shirt open in his office

And my darlings, that is how one sucks up to a snooty CEO and spits him out!

Till we meet again,

Elizabeth


	15. Chapter 15

Lizzy woke up slowly the day after the volleyball game. Her body was sore from the game the day before. After the game, the group had lounged around and had an early dinner at Will's place before Elizabeth said her goodbye's to Will and Georgie and headed to her apartment. She wanted to wrap up some work and catch up on some more reading that evening. She was lagging behind on her blog that month and also on some new author interviews for her work. She had told Will that she would call him to say goodnight once her work was done for the night. She had indeed called him last night but was surprised that he didn't pick up and didn't return her call like he usually did. She assumed he must have been really tired and must have retired early.

As she woke up she heard her phone ring. She smiled to herself thinking it must be Will calling her and she picked it up without looking at the caller id.

"Hello handsome, missed me?" she said into the phone.

She was shocked when she heard her mom shriek, "Lizzy, are you out of your mind? What have you done?!"

Lizzy thought her mom was being hysterical about something trivial in her typical way. "Mom, what is it now?" she asked.

"Don't give me that. You might think yourself beyond all boundaries of manners. You may even think of yourself highly accomplished but this is definitely not what your dad and I expected from you. A girl should know what happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom."

Lizzy was really confused now. She had no idea what her mom was going on about. "Mom, can you please explain what is going on?" she tried again.

"Lizzy, I am so ashamed. Imagine my shock when Mrs. Long called me to tell me what you had written on your blog. The whole of New Jersey is talking about you as if you were a common whore," her mom literally sobbed.

Lizzy was alarmed now. What was her mom talking about? Her blog? As far as she knew her mom's friends rarely read her blog and in anycase her last post on her blog had been a book review of "Wuthering heights." She hadn't posted anything in awhile after that last one. She quickly went to her computer as she tuned out her mom's tirade on the other end of the phone. She opened her blog as her hands shivered and her mind boggled to know what was going on. When her blog loaded, she felt like she was going to choke as she skimmed through what was on there. There was a very lewd story of how she had seduced Darcy along with explicit pictures. She was beside herself. She had heard of hackers posting malicious content but she had no idea how anyone had found the personal pictures of her and Will in the first place.

She collapsed on the bed and for the first time in her adult life she felt utterly lost. It was obvious someone was out to get her. She picked up her phone, as her heart beat wildly, and called Darcy. "Please pick up, please pick up," she prayed but it was to no avail. Darcy did not pick up as she threw the phone in frustration. She felt her head spinning and she felt like she was going to throw up. She held herself in a fetal position as her mind went blank and her body heaved uncontrollably.

A few hours later Jane called her. Jane was as livid as Lizzy. She vouched she would help Lizzy get to the bottom of this but both the sisters had no idea how to go about it or where to start for that matter. Jane was also mad that Darcy had not picked up Lizzy's calls. It was evident that he must have seen the blog post. It was extremely sad that instead of talking to Lizzy and figuring out what had happened, it seemed like he had chosen to shut her out. Jane even tried to call Will from her phone but he did not pick up her call or even Charles' call.

By evening when Darcy had still not made any contact with her, Lizzy decided to go to his house. She couldn't take this lying down. She had to go see him and tell him the god honest truth that she had no idea how the post had been published. She went to the lobby of his building and buzzed him. He was either not there or he did not want to see her. She was about to give up when finally Georgie's voice came over the buzzer's speaker. "Lizzy, please come up. My brother is not in his senses right now but I would like you to come up." Lizzy felt her palms sweating as she rode up the elevator. What would she do if he did not believe her? As she stepped into the foyer of the penthouse, she could hear Will shouting at Georgie, "I told you I did not want to meet her. Please get her out." He turned then as he saw her standing in the foyer and his face showed his extreme anger and disgust.

"Will," Lizzy said, "please listen. Honest to God I do not know who did this. It was not me. I feel like a creep trying to explain this to you but I did not do this," she begged as tears rolled down her face.

"I do not want to talk about this, Elizabeth. Please leave," Will said sternly without so much as looking at her.

"Will, don't you see that I could never stoop so low. Is that the level of your trust in me? Please, please look at me. I need your help," she pleaded.

"I do not care for your tears and your explanations. There was no way anyone could have gotten hold of those pictures unless you gave it to them," Wlll shouted as he smashed the drink he was holding to the floor, "It is after all your goddamned blog. How did someone get your credentials to be able to post there?"

"Will, I do not know how but I swear I'll get to the bottom of this. You are either with me in this or we are done here forever," Lizzy replied firmly and walked back to the elevator. She hoped like she never had before that he would stop her from leaving but he did not attempt to even move as she walked herself out.


	16. Chapter 16

The week after was gut-wrenching for Lizzy. She went about her days as if she was in a trance. She avoided all social contact. Getting up to go to work was becoming difficult as she knew some of her coworkers read her personal blog and she didn't even want to think about what they thought of her after reading that piece of falsehood. She still hoped she could talk to Will somehow. Every time she heard the phone ring she hoped that it was Will. Every time she heard someone at her door she thought it was him. Except he made no contact whatsoever.

Jane was deeply worried for her sister. She had had enough of Lizzy holing up and keeping things to herself. She trekked to Lizzy's apartment on the Friday of the weekend and physically forced Lizzy to pack a bag, so she could stay the weekend with Jane and Charles. There was no way Jane would let her sister mope around all by herself. Lizzy barely talked on their drive back to Jane's house. Jane did not want to push her but at the same time she did not know how to help her sister either.

When they reached Jane and Charles' house, Charles came outside to greet them. He hugged Lizzy to show his support although he didn't know what to say. He knew Lizzy was going through hell. He tried to think of how he could convince Will to talk to Lizzy but so far he had come up with nothing. He knew Will had been drinking to oblivion this past week and was not even willing to talk to anyone. He could see Will was dealing with this terribly but Charles had no solution to offer.

The weekend went by in a daze for Lizzy. She had no interest in anything. She ate very little, spoke even less and stared into space most of the time. All she could think of was the blog but what made her deeply sad was Will's reaction to it. She also kicked herself for being so closed and not telling him of her love sooner. What she would give to tell him now but it was too late. It was all fucked up beyond repair now. Another part of her was terribly mad at Will for trusting her so little. Wasn't love all about trusting one another? How could he not know that she would never stoop so low? And how could he be so unwilling to listen? How could he be so closed to her now? But then again she had not been very open with him either. She had been very guarded about her true feelings when it came to the many positives in their relationship while being extremely emphatic about the negatives. Her brain was in a loop thinking about the same things over and over again until she was too tired to think anymore.

Meanwhile Georgie had stayed back in New York for another week to be with her brother although she was afraid she was being of very little help if at all. Will holed himself up in his study and drank his scotch morning, noon and night. He hadn't been to work in a week. He hardly spoke a word to Georgie.

After a week had gone by, Georgie decided she had to do something. This had gone on for too long. How could two such smart people who were so much in love not see through what had happened. Georgie still did not know what had exactly happened with the blog but it was clear to her that this could not be Lizzy's doing. She resolved to talk to her brother that evening come rain or shine. She wanted to give him a piece of her mind and she would make sure he heard her out.

"Will,," she said as she walked into his study and saw him drinking, "You have to stop this. You cannot do this to yourself and Lizzy."

Will did not even look at her as he continued to stare into nowhere.

"Will, please, I beg you, you cannot trust what you saw on the blog. I have known Lizzy for as long as you have and my heart tells me this is not her. I agree she can be aggressive and has a sharp tongue. But this cannot be her. How can you not see it when even I can? Come on Will say something," she begged him but got no response from Will.

She was not giving up though. She sat on the floor near him and opened a book to read. She had decided she would sit there for as long as it took for him to start talking. Dinner time came and went and still there was not a peep from Darcy. Georgie was about to give up. She tiredly got up and was about to head out of the room when she heard Will say something.

"I love her Georgie," he said barely audibly, "I love her and I'm going to go mad without her. I feel nauseous thinking about what she did. She chewed my heart and spit it out."

"Will," Georgie said carefully weighing what she should say, "I do not know why you are believing the stupid blog. I think someone else with an ulterior motive is doing this to separate the two of you. I spoke to Jane and Charles yesterday and do you know what they said? Lizzy is miserable without you. She is in a similar state as you except she is not drinking to drown her sorrow. She is not talking to anyone, she is hardly eating and she has not been to work since the incident. Don't you think someone who wanted to publicly malign you would be happy with this outcome and not mope around like Lizzy has been?"

Will looked up at her finally as he was hit by the logic of what Georgie had said. He had never considered that before.

Georgie continued, "You think about that Will. You need to get back on your feet. And you need to stop drinking. And you need to use your powerful PR department to stop further distribution of that blog."

Georgie collected all the bottles of alcohol and used glasses from his room and walked out. She hoped that would make Will stop drinking. She felt like she had gotten through to him finally. She felt like there was some hope. Georgie decided she would extend her vacation by a few more days to stay with her brother. She really wanted to see him back on his feet before she went back to school.

A few days later, it seemed like Will was doing better. He had stopped drinking and he was talking to his PR department to make the press drop the blog and the reruns of it. Georgie was feeling like she needed a bit of fresh air that day. She was leaving New York the next day and she had been inside the house for a good part of her vacation trying to help her brother get better. All this drama had gotten to her as well. She decided she would visit her aunt and uncle. She could at least say 'bye' to them before leaving New York, she decided. She found her uncle in his study when she got to her uncle's place. He seemed quite upset about the press but he was also worried that someone was trying to create a scandal in the family. He apologised for her aunt not being able to meet her as he told her that her aunt was not feeling well and was resting. Georgie sat around talking to her uncle for a little while longer about her school and living in Europe. After an hour or so she said bye to her uncle telling him she wanted to get back home to finish packing for her flight tomorrow. As she was walking out of his study she was somewhat surprised to hear her aunt talking to someone on the phone from what seemed to be their inner family room. Georgie wasn't one to eavesdrop but it seemed like her aunt was truly agitated about something.

She heard her aunt snap into the phone, "I know you posted the blog but I do not think William is over that girl at all. Remember you posted the blog to break them up. You cannot crow about your successes until that happens. And until they breakup stop calling me here."

Georgie froze. What was her aunt saying? She couldn't believe her ears. She hadn't thought her aunt could be so against William's relationship so as to plot to break them up. How could anyone do this to their own family? She ran out of her uncle's house and hailed a cab urgently. When she got back home she ran up the stairs at breakneck speed. She had to let Will know. This was abundant evidence to indicate someone was plotting against Will and Lizzy.

"Will," she said trying to catch her breath as she ran into the living room, "I need to talk to you." Will tried to interrupt her but she stopped him firmly. "You have to listen to this. Trust me, it changes everything," and she proceeded to tell him what she had overheard her aunt say on the phone.

Will was shocked out of his mind. He knew his aunt did not view his relationship with Lizzy favorably but what his aunt had done was inexcusable. He sat there dumbstruck as he considered the ramifications of what Georgie had just told him. As he thought about it he realized he was the only one who hadn't trusted Lizzy in all this. He was appalled by his own behavior. God! What had he done! He had shut her out completely when she needed him the most. They should have braved this together instead he had been so angry that he had lost his ability to see through this scam. How could he have fallen for this! And then there was the matter of actually finding out who did this. It seemed like his aunt knew about the plan but there was someone else actually executing it. And of course there was the matter of dealing with his aunt. But at this point the most important thing was to find Lizzy and fall at her feet and beg for forgiveness.

"Georgie, what do you think I should do?" he asked his sister. He couldn't thank her enough for what she had just told him. "Will, I think you should first go to Lizzy, I know you are mad at aunt Catherine and whoever else is behind this. But know that Lizzy is what is important to you. Go and apologise and fix this," she said as she gave him a tight hug.

For the first time in many days Will smiled a small smile. Georgie was right. He had to go right now and fix this. He took his keys and ran out of the house. He drove himself to Lizzy's apartment and parked. It was evening and he hoped she was back from work. He waited impatiently and thought about what he would say as he rang the bell to her apartment. No one answered. He was going mad. Where was she? Why wasn't she back from work yet? He rang the bell again and again but it was useless. He slumped to the floor in front of the door. In his urgency to leave his house he had forgotten to bring his phone. He couldn't even call her. He would wait here for as long as it took, he decided. He sat as hours went by but there was no sign of Lizzy.

There was no sign of Lizzy because she had not been staying in her apartment for a week. She had decided she wanted a break from work and had decided to go stay at her grandparents' place in Vermont. She had always been close to her grandmother and had inherited the little cottage when her grandmother had passed. The place itself was nothing fancy but she at least didn't have to face her coworkers, she thought sadly as she went on solitary walks on the trails nearby trying to clear her mind and not delve into the happenings of the past few weeks.


	17. Chapter 17

Will tried calling Lizzy every day that week but he did not know Lizzy had kept her phone switched off for many days now. He went to her apartment every evening and waited for her. Some of her neighbours even saw him sitting out in the hallway for hours every evening but he didn't care what they thought. He called Jane and Charles but it seemed like they were unwilling to tell him where Lizzy was. Everyone was mad at him for not standing up to Lizzy when she needed him the most. He decided he would go and wait for her in front of her doorstep every evening even if it took him a lifetime to find her.

After having stayed more than a week at her grandparents', Lizzy finally decided to go back to her apartment and resume her life as best as she could. Sometimes she wished she could talk to someone who knew how computers and blogs worked to see if she could get to the bottom of this. As she walked into her apartment the old lady who lived in the apartment next to hers waved to her.

She said, "Elizabeth! I'm glad you are back. A young man in a suit has been waiting for hours at your door every evening these past few days. I chatted with him one day and he seems very worried about where you had gone. I just wanted to let you know," she smiled kindly.

Lizzy just nodded and thanked her neighbour as she closed the door to her apartment and sank to the floor. What did this mean now? Was it Will who had come looking for her? Her heart beat wildly but did she even want to meet him now when he had unthinkingly thrown her out weeks ago? She had huge questions about his trust looming in her head as she wondered if Will was going to come back for her that evening. She had half a mind to shut him out just as he had done to her.

Will was out of his mind as he walked to Lizzy's apartment that evening. He was this close to hiring a private detective to find her if she didn't surface in the next few days. He was surprised to hear someone moving inside her apartment when he rang the bell and waited. Had she come back and how would she react to him, he wondered. Lizzy wasn't sure if she even wanted to meet him. She stood by her door for a few minutes without moving an inch just trying to compose herself. Finally she decided, she couldn't shut him out like he had done to her. She opened the door and decided to hear him out before throwing him out.

"Can I come in?" he asked her pleadingly.

She nodded blankly as she turned her back to him and walked into her apartment. He followed her mutely and closed the door. She couldn't look at him. Her heart was beating wildly and her head throbbed.

"Lizzy, I'm terribly terribly sorry," Will started.

She turned to him then but said nothing.

"Lizzy, I have been an ass. I do not know why I could not see what everyone saw when the blogpost was made. Jane, Charles, Georgie everyone knew it couldn't be you who had made the post. But I was stupid to not see the truth. I don't know how I could have been so stupid," Will said sadly.

Lizzy still didn't say anything. Will faltered a bit and continued.

"Lizzy, I know this is ridiculous but you should know I love you like I have loved no other. Don't you know that?" he said.

Lizzy couldn't take it anymore. She looked at him finally and her eyes flared with anger. Where was he when she needed him last month and now he had the gall to come and talk about love to her! She stepped up to him and gave him a tight slap. Will teetered back on his feet too shocked for words. His eyes glistened from the impact. Lizzy's heart lurched as she stepped up-to him again and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pressed her mouth to his. This was not a kiss out of forgiveness, this was a kiss out of anger. Her blood was boiling as she thought how he had treated her. She thought this would be sweet revenge for her. She thought it fitting that he would carry back memories of their angry bodies joining one last time.

"Aren't you afraid I'm going to post this on my blog too?" she spat.

He grabbed her and kissed her fiercely. He was as out of his mind as her. She bit his lips and tasted his blood. He lifted her off the floor and grabbed her butt as her legs wrapped around him. His hands found her panties and ripped them apart as he unbuttoned his jeans and pushed them down. They both knew they would regret this as soon as it was over but they couldn't stop themselves. He plunged into her as she grabbed his hair and bit his neck. He pounded into her as he slammed her back into the wall. He let himself go when he saw she found her release. He was ashamed of himself but there was nothing he could do as her legs unwrapped from around his waist and straightened to the floor. He let her go then without looking at her. He buttoned his jeans up before he sat on the couch trying to compose himself.

"Why did you come back, Will?" Lizzy asked as she still stood leaning against the wall.

"Lizzy, I don't know what came over me. I have been in love with you for months now. I still am and will be forever. I couldn't even imagine living without you for a day and then I read the blog and .. all our past prejudices just seemed to flair up. I thought you had really ripped my heart out because I had been so insensitive to you and your family in the past with my rudeness. I just didn't know how to deal with it all." He sighed and continued, "but what I did by shutting you out was wrong, very wrong. I should have known it sooner but my feelings for you scared me and the thought that you had taken me for the fool that I was just did me in."

"But how could you not trust me, Will?" Lizzy asked, "The most saddening thing about this whole ordeal for me is how you just shut me out."

"I know I feel like an asshole about that and I tried to explain my behavior to myself this past week when I was going berserk trying to find you. I think I always remembered us expressing our love when we were in the throes of physical intimacy. I couldn't remember one single time when we expressed our true feelings when we were in a more normal state of mind. That caused a lot of self-doubt in me about our relationship. The lesson for me from this whole mess is to be more open with you and to speak my heart. I promise to tell you how much I love you and how much you mean to me everyday of the rest of our lives if only you let me."

He continued, "Some part of me also thought I deserved what the blog implied after how rude I have been to you in the past. In my own twisted way I thought the punishment was justified for me. I was not trusting of the fact that we could be happy together. I obviously have trust issues Lizzy that I need to work on. I have never had continued happiness in my family and I have blamed myself for that for as long as I can remember and then you came along and everything was perfect until the blog. When I read the blog our relationship just felt too good to be true. I promise I'll do everything to stop second guessing about our relationship," he pleaded.

Lizzy felt only slightly better that he was trying to explain himself and her gut told her he was being sincere too but it was not like she could just shut off the resentment for what he made her go through in the past few weeks just because he came back to her now. She told him as much and added, "You may be right, Will, but I don't know. I will need some time to consider all of this before we can go back to where we were. It's unfortunate but that's the truth."

"I understand. Take your time but I do want you to know that I'm going to stand by you through thick and thin - whatever may be thrown our way in the future. I'm going to work on my issues. And that's a promise I make to myself and you," Will said with certainty in his voice.

"But how do you know that? No one can guarantee what will happen in the future," Lizzy was of course not convinced. She had a lot of thinking to do. She felt terribly let down and didn't know how to pull herself out of that state.

"Lizzy, Isn't that what love and trust are about? Being there for one another irrespective of what happens. We might have our spats, we might have times where we are sure we can't stand one another but I promise you I'll not shut you out. I'll be there to talk about it and do my best to understand your point of view."

"I need time, Will," and that's all Lizzy could say for now.

Will nodded. He couldn't ask for more. At least she was willing to talk to him unlike himself in the past few weeks. "Lizzy, there's one more thing. I have contacted one of my college friends who owns the company that runs your blog site. He has asked their tech department to dig into this. We are going to find the bloody hackers. I promise you that!"

"You can do that, Will, but at this point I do not care. I cannot even log in to my own blog. Whoever hacked it made sure they changed my password. So it's a lost cause," Lizzy said sadly.

"About that, my friend said you luckily have a phone number associated with your blog account. He said his company can verify that you are the original owner of the account by sending a code to your phone which you can use to log back into the account. He also said once you have your account back, you can file a complaint with their tech support team and they will let you know what IP address the post was uploaded from. The IP address will tell us the likely physical location of where the post was uploaded from. It may still not tell us who authored it but it's at least a lead," Will said.

Lizzy nodded as she went to bring her phone. They both sat at her laptop and followed the steps necessary to recover her account by using the code that was sent to her phone. Lizzy felt gladdened for the first time since the incident when she was finally able to log back into her account.

"Should I delete the fake post?" she wondered out loud.

"If you don't mind I think we should keep it posted there for a few more days so whoever hacked into your account does not figure out that we are on to them," Will suggested.

She was surprised at his suggestion. She had thought his utmost worry would be about the degradation of his public image caused by the blog. But it seemed like he was not worried about that at all if he was suggesting to keep the blog up so they could track down the culprit. Lizzy nodded to his suggestion and they filed a complaint with the blog company asking them for a list of IP addresses from where posts had been uploaded to the blog in the past two months. Will said he would talk to his friend who owned the company and get back to her with the next steps.

It was time for Will to leave, now that they had set the ball rolling towards finding who had done it. He kissed her lightly on the forehead as he asked her if it was OK for him to call her in the next few days. Lizzy nodded. Meanwhile she knew she had to a lot of thinking to do.

Will had other things on his mind as he walked to his car from Lizzy's apartment. He was raging mad at his aunt and that was an understatement. It was high time he put his aunt in her place. He had pushed off meeting his aunt as fixing things with Lizzy had been his top priority. Now he decided to go to his aunt's place and give her a piece of his mind. What she had done was absolutely deplorable. He usually did not like to cause animosity in the family but this was taking it too far. His aunt had turned out to be nothing but a cheap scamster. As he entered his aunt's living room she seemed a little nervous as she told him she was about to step out for some errands. He knew she was trying to avoid him.

"Aunt," said Will stopping her firmly, "I know what you have done with Elizabeth's blog. My blood boils just thinking about it. I know you have stepped out of line even in the past but this is borderline criminal. I'm this close to revoking your position in the family trust. You should know I still have majority veto power," he said in no uncertain terms.

His aunt visibly balked at that but wasn't dissuaded. "William, you do not know yourself. You know how that girl tricked you and still you want to be with her? This is shameful!"

Will was seething mad now. "Aunt, say one more thing against Elizabeth and you will see yourself out on the streets," he continued, "Who did you use to write that fake piece of crap on the blog? Trust me, I'm going to find them whether you tell me or not. And when I do find them I'll sue you for libel and wash our family laundry in public."

"You cannot prove anything," his aunt said.

"You think you are smart? I have contacts at the company that runs the blog site. They are tracking the person who posted the fake blog as we speak. One more word against Lizzy from you now or in the future and you know what I'm going to do. This is your final chance to behave. You will be respectful to me and Elizabeth from now on. If I hear of any kind of misbehavior I will not stop to think even for a second before I throw you out of the family trust," he bit out. He walked out of the house as his aunt stood there speechless for once.


	18. Chapter 18

Will called Lizzy a few days later. Lizzy had decided she would have to take their relationship one day at a time. Will asked her if she wanted to go running with him the next morning. Lizzy agreed. It seemed a good idea to spend some concrete amount of time with him and she believed she needed the physical exertion as well.

Lizzy and Will met every morning the following week for their daily run. It was invigorating to run in the parks of New York City and it was good for the two of them to be spending time with each other albeit in small amounts but regularly. Lizzy still felt uncomfortable whenever she thought of the incident and the past month but running with him gave her some purpose and hope that things could be ok between them again. Will didn't push for more time with her but he did tell her how much he missed spending time with her like they used to earlier. He seemed to be willing to give her the time and space she needed for now.

A few days later, Will called Lizzy one day when she was still at work. He seemed very excited as he told her that his friend's team at the blogging company had been able to retrieve a list of all the IP addresses from where blog posts had been made to Lizzy's blog in the past two months. He said most of the IP addresses originated as expected from Lizzy's house or the coffee shop near her house where she usually blogged from.

"But can you guess the location of the IP address where the fake blog post originated?" he asked her, quite excited to tell her himself.

"Umm, I don't know Will," she said not half as excited as him.

"It's from my house, Lizzy! Remember you had brought your laptop over the day we played pool volleyball - the very same day the blogpost was made?" he asked her.

Lizzy was stumped. What did he mean by that and why was he so excited about it?

He continued, "You know there were not many people that day at my house. I remember you had left the laptop on the side-table while we played volleyball and can you guess who amongst us was not at the pool and instead chose to stay inside feigning a headache?" he asked her once again eager to tell her the whole thing.

Lizzy thought as she gasped. "Oh my God! It's Caroline, isn't it?" she rasped as she wrapped her head around the mess.

"Yes, sweetheart. It's none but her. You know one more thing?" he asked, "I just happened to check my sent-mail folder on my phone for that day. That woman has even sent some of our intimate pictures from my phone to her email and used those pictures in the blog post."

"That bitch!," Lizzy spat out, "Wait till I get my hands on her. And let me guess? She must have gotten the private pictures of us from your phone and for the rest of the pictures - like the ones in front of the Guggenheim and the one in Jane's house and at your office party, she must have been spying on us on purpose and taken those pictures herself."

"Bingo!," said Will, "I'm one hundred percent sure that is what she did."

"Ugh, I hate her," said Lizzy, "I guess there is a lesson in this for us though - to secure our laptops and phones better even if the devices are in our own homes. I hate this. I hate how she has made us feel insecure in our own homes," she bit out.

"Lizzy, I'm going to call Charles and let him know what she has done. I'm sure he will be livid and may even cut her out of his family. I can sue her, you know, but I don't know if I want to spend my legal team's effort on a scum bag like her. I would rather spend my energies making up-to you," he said still sad at how he had treated the most important person in his life. "I'm very sorry, Lizzy," he added.

Will called Charles right after he finished talking to Lizzy. As expected Charles was extremely angry at what his sister had done. "Will, he said, "I'm really really sorry for what she did. I do not know how I'll make it up to you guys but know that I'll do everything in my power to correct my sister's ways. I had already warned her a few times before, when I thought she had crossed a line with regards to her social behaviour, that I'm going to cut her out from the family." He thought for a bit before continuing, "You know what? We have a family home in Dallas, Texas. I'm going to give her one more lifeline. I'm going to make her pack her bags and move to Dallas. That will be her final chance. If she cannot make a decent life for herself in Dallas, then I'm done with her, I'm going to cut her out from the trust money," he added.

Both Will and Lizzy slept somewhat peacefully for the first time that night since the incident. They were thankful that the first big storm in their lives had passed. Even though it hadn't been smooth sailing, it had been eye-opening for both of them as they decided to work even stronger on being open about their feelings with each other.


	19. Chapter 19

It had been two months since the blog post. Lizzy and Will had since then decided to pull the hacked blog post down and in its place they posted a short and honest note on what had indeed happened. Some readers of the blog were still suspecting of Lizzy's motives but most others wished the couple the best for their future and went back to reading Lizzy's posts as usual.

Their relationship was doing so much better as well. They had gotten back to spending more time with one another. They were happy and they could feel the same chemistry as before between them now - even if they were doing something mundane like reading a book or working or cuddling together while watching a movie. Their conversations were comfortable again and they teased each other without mercy given half a chance like before. Jane, Charles and Georgie were extremely relieved to see the two of them had more or less patched up and were acting like their normal selves. One thing that had suffered and still wasn't back on track was their sex life. They still felt the same or even stronger urge to be intimate with one another but something had been stopping Lizzy from going all the way. She was afraid of getting hurt again.

One morning she was running by herself in the park as Will was in Chicago on work that week. She had been noticing an older couple that came and sat for a bit near the fountains every morning as she ran around the fountain on her way back to her apartment. That day she heard them talking to each other and laughing as she stopped by the fountain for a drink from her water bottle.

She heard the woman telling her partner, "I'm so happy today. I can't believe our granddaughter is graduating high-school the same day we got married forty five years ago," she beamed. "Can you believe how happy we are, Henry?" she asked her partner who was presumably her husband.

Her husband laughed and said, "Of course, I believe it. I believe in our continued happiness when I see your beautiful face every morning."

The woman laughed as she said, "It's not just me. The credit goes to you as well Henry. Who would have thought we would be here today after our families raised hell about us marrying each other so many years ago?"

The man kissed and hugged her lightly as he said, "Let's not think about that. Let's think about all the happy moments we have had in our lives and all those moments were possible only because we stuck together. We were each others steadfast supporters. Do not forget that," he said as he smiled at her.

Lizzy listened to them as if she was struck by a bolt of lighting. It seemed like she was looking at Will and herself forty or fifty years hence. She had much to learn from the older couple. She realized everyone needs to fight the fight to a happy ending. She also realized for the first time in her life that she was willing to fight that fight. Infact she wouldn't want to settle for anything less. She went up to the couple and wished them a "Happy anniversary" as she resumed her run back to her apartment with a smile on her face.

Will was coming back from Chicago that evening and Lizzy was supposed to meet him for a relaxed dinner at his house. She finished her work quickly and took a cab to Will's house. As she walked into the lobby of his building she saw him waiting for the elevator with his carryon bag. He had just gotten back from the airport. She ran upto him and gave him a tight hug as her bottled up feelings for him overcame her. She wouldn't let go of him even when the elevator arrived. He was surprised but not unwilling to hold her as long as she needed.

Once inside the elevator he asked her "Are you OK, Lizzy? Is something wrong?"

She laughed as she looked up from where her face rested on his chest. "I'm better than ever, Will. Something happened this morning that made me realize that I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be with you." Will was delighted at her words as she continued, "I want the happy ending that I can only foresee if I'm with you," she breathed. Will picked her up and twirled her around as they moved out of the elevator into the living room.

Lizzy offered to order some takeout food for them as Will went to shower and get out of his work clothes. The food still hadn't arrived as he came out of his room, having showered and looking comfortable in his track pants. Lizzy had warmed up some bread and put out some olive oil to munch on till the food arrived. Will took out some wine and poured two glasses for them.

"How was your trip, Will?" Lizzy asked as she took a glass of wine from him and some bread and sat on the couch.

"It was alright as far as these trips go, I guess," said Will. "I have asked the team there to come visit us next time, so I don't have to keep flying back and forth," he said.

They spoke about her work week and the books she had lined up for a kids' promotional event that her office was planning. Lizzy also had some news for Will. She told him that she had gotten a call from Jane. Jane had wanted to let them know that Caroline had moved to Dallas and she was finally truly out of their lives.

Will was very happy to hear of this welcome news. He grabbed Lizzy's hand and kissed her wrist as he said, "Which means we can go back to our public displays of affection unguardedly." Lizzy laughed at how he was openly flirting with her.

There was something else she needed to tell him. She had gotten a call from the "Vanity Fair" magazine a few days ago with a surprising offer. At first she was sure it was someone trying to pull a prank on them but it turned out they were pretty serious about their offer. They wanted to do an article about the love lives of the rich and the famous with possibly intimate photographs to jazz the article up. They would do a photoshoot with tastefully done pictures of the couples they were interviewing, they had said. Vogue had also said they had seen her blog and were very impressed with the photogenic chemistry between them which had prompted them to shortlist Will and Lizzy. "Of course I said 'No' to them," she told Will in conclusion but she was happy that there seemed to be a positive side to that blog post.

"I would have loved to do a photoshoot with you, Lizzy. I'm disappointed you said No. Just think, you - me - in the library?" he said teasingly.

"Shut up, Will," said Lizzy in mock anger as she smacked his chest playfully. She didn't realise she tipped her wine glass in the process and it spilled all over her favorite creme silk top. "Ugh, I'm such a clumsy ass," she said as she tried to dab the wine off her silk top but the red wine wouldn't come off and started to seep into her top. "This is not helping," she said as she raised her top over her head and took it off in one go. Will was mesmerised. He hadn't seen her naked in a while and her body did things to him even when she had all her clothes on. Seeing her like this - frenzied and taking her clothes off turned him on even more as he sat watching her. She suddenly seemed to have realized what she had done as she crossed her arms across her chest to cover her breasts.

"You got some wine on your trousers too," said Will as he pointed to her trousers. He grabbed her by the waist and brought her to stand in front of him.

"Lizzy," he whispered as his tongue lapped up the wine that was still on her torso, "You mesmerize me. I'm going to make love to you now. If you don't want me to, you need to stop me now."

Finally coming to her senses somewhat she said, "I think it's something to do with your living room, Will. Whenever I'm here, our relationship has taken a turn for the better," she smiled remembering the first time she had taken her t-shirt off and had challenged him to take her right there in this room. It was also in this very same room she had asked him to make love to her for the first time after they had decided to go steady with one another. Now here they were again. She looked at his eyes which were so full of love for her. "Will, I have taken too long to say this but I want to tell you now," she whispered, "I love you, Will, with all my heart. You can make love to me anytime you want."

Will's face broke out into a huge grin. He had never been happier. To know she reciprocated his love was all he had hoped for in the past few months. He wanted to make love to her right now. He had waited too long. His self-control was wearing thin as is. He picked her up in his arms and took her to his bedroom. His lips sought hers as he gently laid her down on his bed. They kissed and kissed and kissed as if their lips were parched for one another.

Will wanted to make love to her slowly, he wanted to worship her with his body. Lizzy had other ideas. She wanted him fast and furious. It had been too long for her as well. She was already aroused beyond care. She arched her body and pushed her breasts into him wanting him to take her into his mouth. He still did not change his pace however. He moved himself to her feet and started kissing her toes, one by one, bit by bit. He inched up her body as she squirmed underneath him. She tried to pull him up to her but he wouldn't budge as he took his time savouring her body. When Lizzy finally couldn't take it any longer she sat up on the bed and pulled him up to her. She climbed into his lap as Will kissed her neck. She arched her back and finally he drew her breasts into his mouth. He licked and suckled as his hands went around her to firmly grasp her bottom. Lizzy moved her hips up and down as she adjusted herself on his lap. She positioned herself over his growing length and plunged into him without giving him a chance to object. Will was fighting to catch his breath as she rose and sank her body into him again and again. He held on to her, that's all he could do as she seemed bent on taking him with her. "Don't hold back, Will," Lizzy rasped. "You first," he said, "I love watching you come." And his words were all it took for Lizzy as her body climbed and climbed to a peak like never before. He joined her as her muscles clenched around him non-stop. He laid them both back down gently as he kissed her forehead. "I feel like the luckiest man alive," he breathed obviously still in the throes of an emotional high as he grasped her chin and kissed her again.

"By the way I forgot to tell you before but I love you too with all my heart," he said replying in kind to her admissions of love in the living room.

She giggled at that as she said, "I love you too but not when you are adamant on making love slowly just to wind me up," she said teasingly.

"There is fun in loving slowly and seeing you writhe," he said grinning.

"Oh, yeah. You want slow? You got slow," she said rising to the challenge he posed.

She pushed him on to his back as she straddled him. She kissed him slowly and took her time to meander down his body using her mouth and hands to tease him without respite. She kissed his chest and slipped below to kiss his abs, his accentuated hip bone. Her breasts pressed into his body enticingly as she came back up to kiss him on the lips. He tried to grab her and bring her nipples into his mouth but she was having none of it as she slid down his body again to kiss his thighs.

"Alright, alright, you win, Lizzy. Please don't kill me with this slowness," he said gritting his teeth.

"Tell me what you want," came her voice as she positioned herself between his legs.

"I want you, Lizzy," he breathed.

"Where do you want me?" she asked.

"I want to be inside you," he said.

"That you cannot have at the moment as I'm busy taking it slow," she grinned purposefully, "but what you can have is you inside my mouth," she said as she finally took his hardness into her mouth. Her palm covered his base as her mouth covered the top. She squeezed with her hands as her mouth sucked him in. She was relentless as he pushed her hair back from her face so as to watch her. He couldn't control himself any longer as he reached a roaring release.

"Was that slow enough?" she teased as soon as he seemed to recover a bit.

He smiled as he was still panting from the previous exercise. She was really driving his already weak self-control out the window. He wanted to have her again if only to give her the "fast and furious" she wanted. He flipped her over on her stomach abruptly and pulled her hips up so she was on her knees. He adjusted a few pillows below her stomach and her head so she was still face down on the pillow with her butt in the air. Her pussy was beautifully open to him in this position as he skimmed his fingers over her opening.

She yelped as she pleaded with him, "What are you doing?"

"You said you didn't like slow, so this will be fast, my love," he breathed as he licked her opening in one stroke.

She yelped again. She hadn't expected him to want her again so soon. "Who am I kidding?" she thought, "We have always gone at it like bunnies and we have loved every moment of it," she grinned to herself as she relaxed and felt every single thing he was doing to her. His tongue licked her in long, fast strokes as his two fingers probed her deeply. He kept at it as his other hand grasped her waist such that she could not move her body away from him. She wanted more at the same time she did not know if she could take any more. She begged for her release as his fingers and tongue continued doing things to her. He saw her starting to shudder and stuck his tongue into her as deeply as he could and lapped up every single drop that dripped out of her. Lizzy collapsed on the pillows as her body still shook from what he had done to her. Even before she could recover she felt him pulling her hips up again. She yelped yet again but good lord she so wanted him again. He pushed himself into her in one stroke as his palms massaged her shoulders and kissed her neck. He brought both of them to be lying on their side with her top leg hooked over his waist as he continued to push into her from the back. She grabbed on to anything she could hold as his need for her overtook him. She cried his name as she reached her peak once again and he followed her there soon after.


	20. Chapter 20

Epilogue

Lizzy was sitting on a beach-chair sipping her drink as she watched the beautiful sunset off their private villa on an island off mainland Greece. As she waited for Will to join her she began to reminisce about how it had all started between the two of them and how she and Will had come to be here together finally on the last day of their honeymoon. She remembered how they had gone from openly disliking one another to becoming each other's best friends. The bond between them was something that was truly unique and meaningful. They were fortunate to enjoy a very well-balanced, supportive relationship that brought the best out of each other. Oh, they still argued and couldn't see eye-to-eye from time to time but they had figured out a reasonably practical working model that gelled well with their personalities.

She fondly remembered Will had asked her to move in with him when it had been about two months since she had finally openly verbalized that they were in love. Living together was after all the logical next step as they were pretty much together most of the time on a day-to-day basis. Even though they weren't technically living together before that, one of them would invariably stay back in the night with the other. They would each go to work in the morning and meet again in the evening with other friends or by themselves. Their physical intimacy and emotional connection had grown stronger during that time. He could be miles away from her at a work meeting but all it took was his voice over the phone to get her heart racing. She could be in the next room or in the next city but she knew he would always be waiting for her. There had been no reason not to move in with him and she had in fact been pretty excited about living with him.

They had been living together for six months and it had been mostly smooth sailing for them, with some quarrelling about who gets the bigger share of bills and ownership of other practical items. During that time Lizzy had become friends with the older couple she had met at the fountain. The same couple she had met on that fortuitous day when she had decided she loved Will after the fake blogpost ordeal. Lizzy had met the older couple many times afterward during her runs and she had initiated a friendship with them. She narrated to them how their story had been instrumental in getting her life back with her boyfriend. Now, she realized almost every time she saw the older couple, that she wanted the constancy of affection and support that she saw in them. She wanted to sit with Will by a fountain sixty years from now and watch the younger people go by. She knew she would be fine with anything the future threw at them as long as they were together. It was on one such morning that she realized she didn't want to wait any longer to be married to him. Why wait when they could be happy starting this moment if she so wished? It was a thunderbolt of a thought but it made complete sense. Will and Lizzy had in fact spoken about their thoughts on marriage and kids earlier and it had seemed that they both wanted the same things. There was no point in waiting anymore. She decided she was going to propose to him that very evening. It just felt right. She initially thought she would go buy herself and him rings but she decided against that idea. She decided she would just use a simple silver ring that she owned that was too big for her. She was sentimentally attached to the ring as well as it had belonged to her dear grandma and it was only fitting that someone very dear to her would continue to wear it.

She smiled to herself now on her honeymoon as she remembered the day she proposed to him very clearly. She had walked into their apartment with a skip in her step as she formulated the plan in her head. Will was coming back from San Francisco that evening and she had thought she might as well surprise him then. They had in fact talked about their thoughts on marriage and kids before and Will had said he wanted to be married and have kids with her someday for sure. He had also added "sooner the better" impishly. He had been pretty open about it too but seemed wary of popping the question. Hence she was not at all tensed about his reply to her proposal but she had every intention of making a show out of it in her own quirky way. She didn't want the typical Tiffany's ring in Central park type of proposal. Her grandma's ring in Will's living room - which had been the lucky location for many of their first-time trysts - would work just fine. She dressed somewhat carefully as she waited for Will to come back home from the airport. She had goosebumps on her skin as she heard Will open the front door and walk in with his travel bag.

"Hi sweetheart, I missed you terribly," he said as he came over to give her a bear hug.

"I missed you too very much," she replied giving him a kiss.

"Lizzy, I'm so happy you are back home from work already," Will murmured, "I just don't like coming back home when you are not around and I was really homesick this time," he whined a bit.

"Haha, " Lizzy laughed consolingly, "Why don't you go shower? I will have some pasta and bread ready for us by the time you are done. You will feel right at home once you get some food into you," she added.

Will had been having a strange feeling of melancholy throughout his trip for some reason. He had been thinking of proposing marriage to Lizzy for a few weeks now. He had been waiting for the right moment with the right amount of romance but was not entirely sure how to plan such a moment. Added to that he had met two couples on his trip to San Francisco who had recently gotten engaged which only increased his frustration about deciding when to pop the question to Lizzy. He showered and dressed quickly as he thought about the ring he had already bought for her. He walked out to find two plates of pasta, salad, and bread setup for them. They sat down and ate and spoke about their work weeks. Will also told Lizzy that he had found out during his time in San Francisco that one of his coworkers, whom Lizzy had also met, had recently proposed to his girlfriend under the Golden Gate Bridge. "How exciting! You must congratulate them for me," Lizzy said trying to not give away her own plans. Will thought he would use her reaction to figure out if she also desired a proposal in one such iconic locations but Lizzy didn't seem to be overly excited about it. Lizzy was happy for Will's coworker but she was also distracted by her own thoughts. She knew the time had come. They were done with dinner and had segway-ed nicely into the topic of marriage proposals and she wanted to make use of the moment. She stopped herself from over-thinking it as she slowly stood up and walked over to him and gave him a soft kiss. She stopped kissing him and even as he was trying to hold her back to him she walked away from him to stand in the center of their living room.

"Will, did you check your messages yet?" she asked sultrily.

Will had been so focused on getting back home quickly from the airport that he had not checked his messages since he got off the flight. He looked at her with one eyebrow raised as he grabbed his phone and skipped past all the work messages and scrolled to Lizzy's message. What he saw when he opened her message made his heart stop. She had sent him a picture of herself for sure. The picture was zoomed into her creamy, naked, smooth torso and showed the section between her waistline, her sexy navel and teasingly ended at the top waistband of her red lacy panties. But what made his heart stop was the black satin ribbon with printed red hearts that was tied around the waistband of her panties. He couldn't believe what he was seeing as he looked at her and back at the picture. At the end of the ribbon, where she had tied it into a bow, dangled a ring and a small heart-shaped tag that had the words, "Marry me?" on it. He looked at her again as if he was looking for help but she only held his gaze unwaveringly with a goofy grin on her face.

He finally seemed to make up his mind. He threw the phone back on the counter as he went to the bedroom without so much as a word to her. The color drained from Lizzy's face. "What had she done? Was he mad at her for springing this on him?" she wondered. "Should she go after him?" she thought. Before she could make up her mind he walked back to the living room and came back to standing in front of her without any noticeable change to his mood.

He gave her a slow smile then as he held her face and kissed her. He took a few steps back and said, "I believe you have a question for me?"

"Uh, yes, Will, but if it is not the right time or something I understand.. ," she trailed off.

"Shh. Lizzy, Shut up and take your clothes off, so I can look at said question in person and answer it after due consideration," he said smirking.

Lizzy took her time to do his bidding not because she wanted to tease him but because her hands were trembling as she slowly unzipped her dress and shimmied out of it. It looked like he was of a mind to not help her in this as he just stood and watched her. He wasn't sure he could have been of much help anyway short of ripping the dress off her body. His eyes finally left hers and travelled down her body as her dress slipped to the floor. He saw she had worn her red lacy bra and panties as expected and she looked sexy as hell in the soft light. And around her hips was the ribbon that held their future, it held the ring that would lead them to a lifetime of happiness. He closed the distance between them quickly and went down on his knees in front of her. Lizzy grabbed his shoulders as he kissed her navel and along the length of the ribbon. He finally tugged at the bow at the end of the ribbon. The ribbon unraveled and he untied the ring from it. He opened her right palm that had been clutching his shoulder and placed the ring in it. He want back to standing again in front of her as he put his right hand into the pocket of his track pants to retrieve what looked like a small velvet jewelry box and placed it on his open palm and brought his palm up in front of Lizzy's eyes, wordlessly asking her to open it. Lizzy's eyes went wide as her fingers covered her mouth. He had gone into the bedroom to bring the box with the ring. She couldn't hide her surprise, for unknown to her he had been as well prepared as her.

"Will," she gasped as she slowly opened the box he held in front of her. It carried a very well-cut diamond ring, classy but not over the top.

"Will you marry me, Lizzy?" Will breathed as she gently pulled the ring out of its perch.

"Yes, you trickster, I will," she said, "but remember I asked you first," she quipped as he kissed her happily and slipped the ring he had bought onto her finger. She slipped the ring he had untied from the ribbon on to his finger.

They had been happily engaged for another three months as they prepared for the wedding. It was not a very big wedding. It was well attended by Lizzy's family and their common friends. Georgie had flown from Europe and some of Will's well meaning relatives had attended as well. Will had put his foot down about not inviting the De Bourgh's and their presence was not missed. Their wedding had been an enjoyable day for both Lizzy and Will and their guests. Lizzy couldn't have been happier as Will had whisked her away from the wedding venue to fly to their honeymoon in Europe. They had planned to travel in Italy for two weeks before arriving in Greece for the last week of their honeymoon.

Lizzy snapped back to the present as she looked at Will walking around inside the villa rounding up their last bits of packing as this was in fact the very last day of their glorious three week honeymoon. She smiled wistfully and decided she wanted a final dip in the ocean before they flew back to New York in the morning. She walked into the water in her dark blue and silver bikini and let the water relax her body for a few minutes. The water was warm and invigorating as she floated comfortably on her back. When it was about to get dark she decided to step out of the water as she saw the tiki torches light up on the beach. She waded out of the water to see Will sitting on the beach chairs by their villa. He was looking as hot as ever in his swim trunks and he was of course unabashedly staring at her as she came out of the water. The water droplets rolled off her body and made her skin glisten in the evening dusk. He got up from his chair and walked towards her like a man possessed. He couldn't take his eyes off her even after all the time they had spent together. He had to have her again one last time on the beach. The purple-blue sky at dusk, the solitude of the place, the tiki torches at the boundary, the white sandy beach and last but not the least his wife looking like a siren rising out of the ocean, was all too much to handle. She stopped as she saw him walk up to her. He grabbed her by her waist as his lips crashed into hers. They kissed and groped each other until Lizzy chuckled remembering how insatiable they had been on their honeymoon.

"Something funny, Mrs. Darcy?" quipped Will.

"No, it's just you having the hots for me even after we have done it so many times in the past three weeks," Lizzy smirked.

"Hmmhmm," grunted Will mid-kiss.

"I should have known you were crushing for me even when you only found me tolerable," teased Lizzy.

"Haha, Mrs. Darcy. I think you were crushing for me too then," smirked Will not wanting to give in right now.

"As if," said Lizzy.

"Let me count," said Will as he started counting on his fingers, "Who jumped my bones when they came to return books? You. Who seduced me without wearing panties to dinner? You. Who seduced me in the library? You," Will said shamelessly listing their escapades.

"Shut up," said Lizzy as she felt her face warming up. She slapped his chest as she ran into the water. He gave chase and caught up with her when she had almost reached thigh high water. He grabbed her waist as she yelped delightedly at the onslaught of his kisses. He lifted her feet off the sand as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He kissed her and continued to walk both of them into deeper water. When they were in waist high water his fingers slowly untied her bikini at the back. Lizzy gasped and bit her lip as she realized the two of them had been behaving without any sense of social propriety these past few days. Getting hot and hands-on on the beach, in the water, in their private swimming pool, in the beach cabanas, you name it, they had done it. She was really thankful for the private beach that Will had found that had provided them with more than ample opportunities to make out as they pleased, out in the open. Will could care two hoots as to who was watching them. All he cared about was pleasuring his wife endlessly as he bent his head down to take her breasts into his mouth. His one hand grasped her waist as his other hand pulled her bikini bottom off in one go. His hands roamed her body as his lips roamed her neck and breasts. They were both panting as the warm water lapped at their bodies.

"Will," Lizzy said, "I think you are right. I want to admit I have had the hots for you forever," she smirked.

She disentangled her body from him as he was mildly dazed by her flirtations in mid-kiss. Before he came out of his sex induced daze she was running back out of the water. He ran behind her again and caught up with her just at the edge of the water. He grabbed her arms and pulled her to him and they both toppled on to the sand at the edge of the water. She giggled as she found herself crushed under his body. She would have sand stuck in interesting places again. His teeth grazed her collarbone as his hands spread her legs and explored her folds. He kissed her breasts and sucked her nipples as his fingers spread her legs and pushed his fingers in and out of her. He knew all her buttons by now and knew how to make her beg for more. He rubbed at the right points eliciting blissful moans from her. It was heady as the water lapped at their bodies and the sound of the waves crashed on the cliffs.

"Lizzy," Will whispered into her ears, "I want to admit I have not only had the hots for you forever but I have also loved you forever. In fact I cannot name a time or place when I began loving you - I was in the middle of it before I knew I had begun," he said as he slowly pushed himself into her.

Lizzy drowned in his beautiful words. They were both gasping within seconds. The open yet intimate setting of the ocean in the sunset and this being the last day of their honeymoon was all too much to consider. At that moment all they understood and needed was their love for one another. Their bodies seemed to be in sync with the ebb and flow of the ocean as they crashed and clung to one another in rhythm with the ebb and flow of the waves all around them.

\- The End -


End file.
